More than 250 Louisiana clergy members have signed a letter to Gov. Bobby Jindal opposing his tax swap proposal.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - More than 250 Louisiana clergy members have signed a letter to Gov. Bobby Jindal opposing his tax swap proposal.
The letter was delivered to Jindal's office Monday, calling the Republican governor's proposal unfair and saying it would worsen the financial burden on the poor and moderate-income.
Jindal is proposing to get rid of Louisiana's personal income tax and corporate income and franchise taxes. To offset the loss, the governor wants to increase the state sales tax from 4 percent to 5.88 percent and to charge sales taxes on more goods and services.
When combined with local sales taxes, Louisiana would have the highest average sales tax nationwide.
The Jindal administration says families won't pay more under the tax swap, which will be considered by lawmakers in the upcoming regular session.