INDReporter

State giveaways worthy of hair pulling

Louisiana is giving away more to big business in tax credits and other breaks than it’s collecting in corporate tax revenue.

With a $900 million+ budget shortfall that must be closed by the end of the current fiscal year this summer and a $2 billion budget deficit looming on the horizon for 2016-17, Louisiana’s finances are navigating a dire strait. Little surprise when the new state revenue secretary revealed to The Advocate that Louisiana this year has given away more in tax breaks to corporations than it’s collected in corporate income tax.

Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson would know: She helped big business minimize their state tax bills in her previous job at the Jones Walker law firm.

The situation grew exponentially during the eight years of the Jindal administration, ballooning from $207 million in giveaways in 2004 under former Gov. Kathleen Blanco to $1.08 billion in 2014.

Sorry, Treasurer John Kennedy, but Louisiana definitely has a revenue problem. And to all the state lawmakers clutching their pearls over all the red ink yet enabled Jindal's fiscal insanity over the last eight years, this one's on you.

Read it here.