INDReporter

Jindal consultants criticize tax idea

by Walter Pierce

The consulting firm hired by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration for economic analysis of the governor's tax plan says states should not enact a key plank of Jindal's proposal.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The consulting firm hired by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration for economic analysis of the governor's tax plan says states should not enact a key plank of Jindal's proposal.

In a report released nationally, Ernst & Young economists say sales taxes on services bought by businesses are bad ideas because companies pass those costs to customers or shrink activity in a state where such taxes are levied.

A new 6.25 percent sales tax on services is one of the main ways Jindal proposes to offset the loss of state income tax revenue in his tax restructuring proposal.

Ernst & Young has been doing tax modeling for the Jindal administration. Its criticism was included in an unrelated report for the nonprofit Council on State Taxation.