Gov. Bobby Jindal says that Louisiana would realize more than $500 million in savings if the state opts to reform corporate welfare.
Jindal made his pitch for reforming business tax laws during his last Opening Day address to the state legislature Monday as governor of the Bayou State, in which he said that Louisiana is looking at a possible $1.6 billion budget deficit, the local CBS News affiliate
WWLTV reported.
"We must balance our budget without raising taxes on our people," he said.
His proposal is to change the "system of corporate welfare" in Louisiana.
"Our businesses are a great asset. But we cannot stand idly by while companies pay zero in state taxes and then continue getting free taxpayer money from the government on top of it," the Louisiana Republican said.
"If companies are getting checks from the taxpayer as opposed to paying taxes, then that is government spending that needs to be examined and reduced," he said. "It would be wrong for us to impose cuts to higher education, in order to protect this corporate welfare."
According to
The Daily Caller, the corporate welfare ideas reflect Jindal's 2015 budget proposal, which would make several refundable corporate tax credits nonrefundable and would increase tax revenues by $526 million.
The budget proposal targets tax credits for wind and solar, research and development, natural gas, milk, and musical and theatrical businesses.
Jindal's tax plan has been endorsed by the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), the group headed by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, saying that it's not the same as a tax increase,
The Washington Post reported.
However, the plan has been disparaged by conservatives in Louisiana.
State Rep. Jay Morris said in an email to supporters that "the ATR's way of determining these things can be illogical, inconsistent and downright misleading to the public ... or in the opinion of some ... crazy."
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack, who previously served on Jindal's staff, said that "if you remove the rebate, that is a tax increase."
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