As the Louisiana Department of Revenue notes, exemptions are “tax dollars that are not collected and result in a loss of state tax revenues available for appropriation. In this sense, the fiscal effect of tax exemptions is the same as a direct fund expenditure.”
Tax exemptions are undermining Louisiana’s ability to fund essential services such as education, health care and infrastructure. The ongoing Revenue Study Commission is tasked with evaluating the 468 tax exemptions on the books, which cost taxpayers $4.8 billion last year.
For your convenience, LBP has compiled all our relevant reports, presentations and blog posts.
Reports
- Louisiana Film Tax Credits: Costly Giveaways to Hollywood, August, 2012
- Combined Reporting: Leveling the Playing Field to Help Louisiana’s Home-Grown Businesses, October, 2011
- Louisiana’s Hidden State Budget, May, 2010
- Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Louisiana’s Tax Exemption Budget, Fall, 2007
- EITC: A Tax Credit That Works for Louisiana’s Working Families, June, 2007
Coming Soon:
- Enterprise Zones (September, 2012)
- Horizontal Drilling Tax Exemptions (September, 2012)
Presentations
- Tax Exemptions 101, August 2012
One page primer
- Tax Exemptions: More Safeguards Needed, August 2012
Blog Posts
- Op-ed: Fuel Credit a Teachable Moment, June, 2012
- Revenue Estimating Conference: LBP Breaks Down the Numbers, April, 2012
- Corporate Subsidies in Louisiana: Few Strings Attached, December, 2011
- Study: Half of Corporate Profits Escape State Income Tax, December, 2011
- Tax Free Weekend: Popular But Not Prudent, August, 2011
- Subsidizing Big Business in Louisiana, March, 2011
- Op-ed: Playing Louisiana for a Patsy, March, 2011
- LBP Part of a Growing Chorus Calling for a Moratorium on Tax Breaks, March, 2011
- Missouri’s Tax Credit Review Commission: A Good Idea for Louisiana, February, 2011
- Tax Breaks Extension for Businesses Opposed, February, 2011
- Examining Louisiana’s Hidden Budget, February, 2011
- Earned Income Tax Credit: Income Boost to Workers, February, 2011
Revenue Study Commission Presentations
- Department of Revenue, August 15, 2012
Additional Resources
- “Evidence Counts: Evaluating State Tax Incentives for Jobs and Growth,” Pew Charitable Trusts, April, 2012
- “Department of Economic Development: Enterprise Zone Program,” Louisiana Legislative Auditor, April, 2012
- “Department of Revenue: Tax Credits and Other Exemptions,” Louisiana Legislative Auditor, February, 2012
- “Money For Something: Job Creation and Job Quality Standards in State Economic Development Subsidy Programs,” Good Jobs First, December, 2011
- “Tax Expenditures: Spending By Another Name,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, October, 2011
- “Examining Economic Development Research,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, September, 2011
- “Promoting State Budget Accountability Through Tax Expenditure Reporting,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May, 2011
- “Slashing Subsidies, Bolstering Budgets: How States Can Save Money by Targeting Ineffective Economic Development Programs,” Good Jobs First, March, 2011
- “Researching Audits and Tax Expenditure Budgets” Good Jobs First
- “Tax Exemption Budget,” Louisiana Department of Revenue
