Lowering the Boom: Louisiana Looks to End Its Corporate and Personal Income Taxes

Big news breaking in the Big Easy. Last night, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced that he will pursue tax reform in the next session that includes the elimination of the state’s personal and corporate income taxes.

Republican Governor Bobby Jindal said on Thursday he wants to eliminate all Louisiana personal and corporate income taxes to simplify the state’s tax code and make it more friendly to business.

The governor did not release details of his proposal, but his office released a statement confirming that the taxes are targets of a broader tax reform plan.

“Our goal is to eliminate all personal income tax and all corporate income tax in a revenue neutral manner,” Jindal said in the statement. . . .

Political analyst John Maginnis, who on Thursday reported in his email newsletter LaPolitics Weekly that Jindal will propose balancing the tax loss by raising the sales tax, now at 4 percent, said the strategy fits with the governor’s interest in keeping a high national profile.

My colleague Michael Rathbone and I have beaten the drum consistently about eliminating the corporate income tax in Missouri, which is a light lift compared to Jindal’s plan. Income taxes are among the most destructive in terms of economic growth, and the corporate income tax is arguably the worst. Instead of nickel ante reforms, Jindal is going full boat here and pursuing a policy that will make Louisiana a haven for workers and companies. Paired with Jindal’s school reforms, which include some of the same school vouchers James Shuls has discussed on our blog, Louisiana is emerging as a leader in the battle for forward-looking, pro-market reform.

Talk is cheap, even in Jindal’s case — we will see soon enough if something actually gets passed — but I think there is reason to believe we are seeing a sort of “American Growth Corridor” developing here that is extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. But for Jindal’s huge announcement, this blog post probably would have been about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s own announcement yesterday that he will propose phased-in personal income tax cuts this year for his state. Last month, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman told business leaders that he wants to eliminate the state’s corporate income tax, just a year after modestly lowering the state’s personal income tax. Last year, Kansas eliminated its taxation on pass-through income. And Oklahoma is still looking to cut its tax on personal income this year.

So, Missouri policymakers . . . what are we going to do here? Bueller? Bueller?