Are Louisiana Income Taxes Soon To Be Thing Of The Past?

Texans pay no income tax. Neither do citizens of Florida or Tennessee. And, according to Mandeville Representative Richard Nelson, that is one of the key reasons why the populations have exploded in those states.

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In an article from the Louisiana Radio Network, we learn that Nelson has authored HB 424, which would phase out taxes that Louisiana citizen pay on income, estates and trusts.

Nelson believes this change would be instrumental in making Louisiana as attractive as other neighboring states with no income tax.  Nelson stated, “That’s really the idea, is to make it like these other states that have seen really explosive growth in population, when compared with Louisiana.”

The Bill Goes Before The House Ways and Means Committee Today

Nelson's HB 424 will get its first hearing today as it goes before the House Ways And Means Committee and if it were to ultimately pass, would phase out those income taxes over a four-year period and by 2027 would be totally eliminated.

Though Nelson knows that other legislators might be slow to warm up to his idea, he has provided alternative means to replace the lost revenue by lowering the homestead exemption on property taxes and eliminating several exemptions to Louisiana sales taxes.

Getting Rid Of A Number Of Exemptions Is Key To The Plan

According to Nelson, “It’s not necessarily taxing the people who already pay more, but expanding it to more services. Getting rid of exemptions that we have. We have something like 206 exemptions to the sales tax right now.”

Nelson adds, “We’ll see what the view of the committee is. I’m not actually on the committee, so it’s up to them what they do with it, but…I think it’s a good way to vet the idea beyond what we’ve done already, and that’s what we’re looking to do.”