Gov. Jeff Landry holds a copy of the Louisiana tax code during his speech to the Legislature at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, the opening day of a special session in which he is asking lawmakers to overhaul the state’s tax structure. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate, Pool)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry kicked off a two and a half week special session with a call for legislators to drastically overhaul the state’s tax code.
“This tax code is broken. This tax code is incredibly out of date. And this tax code is holding our state back,” Landry said in an address to the Legislature.
Landry’s plan, crafted by one of his opponents in the governor’s race, Secretary of Revenue Richard Nelson, consists of a series of interworking bills and constitutional amendments that aim to stabilize the state budget after years of relying on a temporary sales tax that is scheduled to expire June 30.
The governor’ proposal calls for the indefinite continuation of that 0.45% state sales tax added in 2016, keeping it at the full rate of 4.45%. Some hardline, anti-tax conservatives could have a hard time with a tax renewal.