March 22, 2017

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Edwards to propose 
dramatic tax changes 
Plan would eliminate most corporate breaks
BY TYLER BRIDGES |  tbridges@theadvocate.com

  Gov. John Bel Edwards wants to dramatically revamp Louisiana's tax system when the Legislature meets next month by replacing the corporate tax on income with a corporate tax on sales, according to administration officials.

  Many economists applaud the proposal, saying it would level the playing field by eliminating most corporate tax breaks and exemptions that cause businesses to pay different tax rates. Some companies take advantage of so many tax loopholes that state government winds up sending them a check.
 
Gross Receipts Taxes: 
Theory and Recent Evidence


By Justin M. Ross 
Associate Professor of Public Finance &  Economics, Indiana University

Key Findings
  · Gross receipts taxes fall short of many characteristics of sound tax policy: they lack economic efficiency, treat firms differently based on their structure, and are problematically nontransparent. 
  · Though there are few recent empirical studies on gross receipts taxes because of their near-universal abandonment in developed countries, some literature on taxes with similar structures can shed light on economic effects of gross receipts taxes. 
  · Gross receipts taxes and other taxes levied on business inputs have been shown to result in "forward shifting" of costs on to final consumers. Smart and Bird (2009) find significant forward shifting of taxes on business inputs in Canada's sales tax system, which was abandoned by four of nine provinces between 1992-1997.
 
Transportation Infrastructure Investment Task Force 
Summary of the Recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Transportation Infrastructure Investment

  The Governor's Task Force on Transportation Infrastructure Investment was created by an Executive Order from Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on June 7, 2016. The 18-member body included a diverse group of leaders from the public and private sector charged with researching, identifying and making specific recommendations to sufficiently maintain the existing transportation system and to finance the construction of certain megaprojects outlined by the Louisiana Statewide Transportation Plan. The Task Force membership included members of the Governor's cabinet, transportation stakeholders ranging from the trucking industry to the design and construction sector, local and state elected officials, and representatives of the business community. The report was submitted to the Governor on December 30, 2016.
 
Take action now. 
Stand up for Louisiana energy jobs

      The oil and natural gas industry is essential to Louisiana's economy and the hundreds of thousands of people working in and alongside it. Show your support to state leaders on May 2, at the 2017 Oil and Natural Gas Industry Day.
 

Advocacy

Advocating for hurricane protection.

Advocating for coastal 
protection and restoration.
This Week 
Around Louisiana

The Chesapeake Group is hired  by the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber  of Commerce to lobby in Baton Rouge  on behalf of the business community  in our region. 

     The links below are a few of the highlights in news from around Louisiana for the week ending March  17, 2017.
By Jim Mustian |  The Advocate

By Jeremy Alford

By Will Sentell |  The Advocate

By Greg Hilburn |  USA TODAY NETWORK

By Faimon A. Roberts III |  The Advocate