New state taxes on inventory, manufacturing machinery and equipment approved earlier this year “threaten our ability to keep the manufacturing jobs we already have and absolutely hamper our ability to attract new investment, says Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack in a new column released in advance of National Manufacturing Day on Friday.
“Also, the industrial tax exemption program that has driven most of our manufacturing growth in recent decades has been slashed, and government lawsuits against energy producers are being incredulously pushed by the governor while at the same time, oil prices are threatening energy jobs throughout our state,” Waguespack writes. “Considering that economists currently state Louisiana is in a recession and predict we may lose roughly 19,000 jobs this year, these decisions to add new taxes and lawsuits on our manufacturers are simply the wrong ideas at the wrong time.”
Waguespack notes that manufacturers contributed $2.17 trillion to the U.S. economy last year. For every $1 spent in manufacturing, another $1.81 is added to the economy, he says.
“Taken alone, manufacturing in the United States would be the ninth-largest economy in the world,” says Waguespack.
Manufacturing jobs account for 9% of the U.S. workforce, or 12.3 million jobs, he notes, adding approximately 3,000 manufacturing companies contribute more than 20% of the Louisiana’s gross state product and employ over 148,000 people. Those jobs carry an average salary of $82,150, which is almost double Louisiana’s average wage of $44,409.
“The economic benefits of cultivating and growing our manufacturing base are obvious, which is all the more reason why recent efforts taken by our elected officials are so short sighted,” Waguespack writes.
