The Alligators Want Their Cut
A business-friendly tax code would go a long way in the Bayou.
By David Freddoso
Metairie, La. — Let’s say you want to start a small business here in this New Orleans suburb. You formulate a business plan that will make it profitable. You seek out competent employees whom you can afford to hire. And then you take out a loan to buy a full set of new computers.
You might not think that your activity to this point is taxable — after all, you still haven’t made a dime by the time you’ve taken these preliminary steps.
But this is Louisiana, so you would be wrong.
First, you must pay taxes on the amount of that loan you just took out — a “debt tax” included in the basis of the state’s franchise tax. On top of that, you must pay an additional “new equipment” tax on your computers. Finally, you have to pay a business-utilities tax on the electricity required to run the computers.
Generally speaking, politicians of all stripes at least say that they want to encourage business investment. For conservatives, this usually means business-friendly tax policy that creates the right incentives. For liberals, it might include subsidies, government-backed loans, government contracts, or public-private partnerships.
But in Louisiana, none of this applies. The state government directly punishes business investment with this malicious triumvirate of taxes that create great obstacles to job creation. It hasn’t been a winning recipe for attracting and keeping businesses in the state — not before Katrina, and certainly not now...
article.nationalreview.com
Draining the Swamp
Jindal’s plan to fix government ethics in Louisiana.
By David Freddoso
article.nationalreview.com |
