BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana lawmakers not only passed a tax deal to avert immediate and deep budget cuts, they backed an agreement that gives the state more financial certainty than it's had in years.
After a decade of short-term, patchwork budget fixes through former Gov. Bobby Jindal's tenure and in the first year of Gov. John Bel Edwards' term, lawmakers agreed to a seven-year tax.
That's practically a lifetime in the Louisiana Capitol, extending through this Legislature's term and the next four-year term as well.
The 0.45 percent sales tax approved before lawmakers wrapped up their work Sunday will expire in mid-2025.
Edwards and lawmakers who supported the seven-year tax hope it will give them breathing room, ending constant uncertainty surrounding the state's finances. They hope that also will impress credit rating agencies.
– by Melinda Deslatte, AP reporter