FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

The State must enact fiscal policies that promote a stronger state economy, with a focus on private sector job creation.

Taxes are only one piece of a state’s economic and business environment, although an important one. Progress in education, workforce development, and infrastructure require planning and reinforcement over the long-term to achieve success; however, tax problems are more easily changed and improved.

To ensure fiscal reform, we must consider:

• Adopting a better tax system. It is not about increasing or decreasing taxes, it is about how the state collects taxes. Louisiana should continue to expand the sales tax base and reduce the sales tax rate, including the taxation of some services;

• Implementing a more uniform and centralized system of sales tax administration, collection and audit that respects and protects local revenue streams and businesses. Collection of tax from Online and shipped sales should be consistent with federal law and court rulings;

• Evaluating the Medicaid program, seeking ways to provide coverage while stopping the exponential grow in costs of services;

• Reforming the state pension system to reduce the risk of increasing debt, better serving the state’s workforce recruitment needs, and providing a more competitive system for employees;

• Creating an efficient criminal justice system that utilizes prison space for those who pose a public safety threat and implements evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism;

• Simplifying the state Constitution to increase fiscal flexibility, allow improvements to our tax and spending policies and modernize state and local relations.