Governor John Bel Edwards is laying laying out his plan for tackling the fiscal cliff at the capitol. The cliff is the result of the expiration of sales taxes in July. Political pollster Bernie Pinsonat says Edwards might renew portion of that penny, but he’ll have to agree on spending reforms
LSU president F. King Alexander is calling on legislators to find a budget solution that funds higher ed and TOPS by the end of the February special session.
Cut 21 (10) “difficult position”
Alexander says there was a noticeable impact the last time the state failed to properly fund TOPS in a timely manner. He says if lawmakers wait until June to solve the one billion dollar fiscal cliff, the damage will already have been done for the 2018-2019 school year.
The Senate Democratic Caucus offers a solution on solving the one-billion dollar shortfall. Troy Carter, who is a state senator from New Orleans, says the Democratic plan would replace the money lost from the expiring penny sales tax by expanding the tax base and compressing bracket. He says the changing of income tax brackets would not mean a huge increase in taxes for higher income wage earners.
Cut 7 (10) “richest of the rich”
But Director for the Louisiana Chapter of Americans for Prosperity, John Kay, says the Senate Democratic Caucus proposal would raise income taxes on the middle class by 50-percent…
Kay doesn’t see how this tax plan will get the 70 votes needed in the House,