GOVERNMENT
COLLIN RICHIE
NEWS
Business interests
WINNERS: Business interests scored multiple victories during the recently completed legislative session.
The 2021 legislative session was one of the best in recent years for the business community. BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL THE 2021 LEGISLATIVE session didn’t make everyone happy. But business organizations and good government groups overwhelmingly give the six-week session that ended June 10 high marks for being one of the most successful in recent memory. “This has been an extremely collaborative session, where legislators worked together to develop innovative solutions for the good of the people of Louisiana,” says Stephen Waguespack, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. That innovation and bipartisanship was enabled in large part by the pending arrival of a $1.6 billion federal windfall, courtesy of the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan. With that kind of money headed to Louisiana, it was a lot easier for lawmakers to find creative solutions. Still, that’s only part of the reason the session was hailed as a success by so many. The other is
the passage of a package of tax reform measures that address many, though not all, of the problems that have long been cited for making the state’s Byzantine tax code complicated and anti-competitive. Granted, in order for the changes to take place, voters have to approve several constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall, which is no small feat. But nonpartisan analysts say the measures include much-needed reforms that will benefit many in the state, not just business owners and wealthy individuals. “A lot of these changes are good policy, based on good, sound recommendations going back for years,” says Robert Travis Scott, president and CEO of the Public Affairs Research Council. “This Legislature was determined to get it done and we saw some tremendous leadership.” There was another big win, too, for the business community: the passage of a bill that would redirect $300 million in vehicle sales
tax revenues to long overdue highway and bridge construction projects, including a new span across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. But that bill faces an uncertain future: Gov. John Bel Edwards has serious concerns about the measure because of its impact on the state general fund, and it was unclear as of press time whether he would let it become law or veto it. Even without the transportation funding bill, the tax system changes, which have been at the top of the business community wish list for years, are significant enough to make the 2021 session go down as one of the most successful in recent memory, in the opinion of Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp. “When you look at Louisiana passing tort reform last year and tax reform this year, it’s the most consequential, pro-business, two-session run—maybe ever,” he says. “It’s incredible to see
bipartisan solutions get done in a divided government.” Here’s a look at how issues of importance to the business community fared in the session. TAX REFORM Several bills are lumped under the tax reform umbrella. Taken together, they address several problems with the state’s tax system, though critics note that lawmakers did little to address the state’s heavy reliance on sales taxes, which disproportionately affect low-income taxpayers. HB199 by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, is a constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters this fall, will create a more simplified state and local sales tax system by establishing a new statewide political subdivision that will be responsible for streamlining filings, remittance and audits of sales and user taxes. It’s significant because Louisiana is the only state in the country with the cumbersome, Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, July 2021
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