Editor: La. voters cast meaningless ballots to kill nonexistent tax

Thanks to state legislators and a more than gentle nudge from the residential real estate industry, a very small number of Louisianans trudged to the polls Nov. 19 to overwhelmingly reject something that neither existed nor had any hope of coming into existence in the foreseeable future, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. “The overwhelming passage of Constitutional Amendment No. 1, by 81% of the measly 20.6% of statewide voters who actually went to the polls, means that 100% of us—and especially those in the business of selling houses—can now rest easy. Our potential new tax nightmare is over before we ever fell asleep,” Ball says. “Essentially, the amendment, which now becomes part of our bloated state constitution, prohibits government from taxing you on the purchase of a new house. There was no talk of doing such a thing, mind you, but now such a discussion is pretty much off the table.” Read the full column here, and send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.