Roughly seven in 10 Louisianans, or 72%, believe increasing taxes will keep businesses from relocating to The Bayou State, according to the results of a poll of 500 “likely voters” released Tuesday by Baton Rouge-based Southern Media and Opinion Research.
At the same time, 69% of respondents say they think increasing taxes will cause Louisiana businesses to cut back, while 52% say tax increases will result in job losses.
Local businessman Lane Grigsby commissioned the statewide poll, which comes on the heels of state lawmakers increasing sales taxes and eliminating business tax exemptions during a special session held in the spring to shrink budget shortfalls this fiscal year and next. Projections indicate that $1 billion in new taxes were raised during the first special session held this year.
Another special session is slated to begin next week, during which taxes could be further increased and exemptions cut even more. On Friday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a call for the second special session to begin 30 minutes after the current regular session ends on Monday. The goal: address what’s left of an estimated $600 million shortfall in the state’s 2016-2017 budget.
Some business groups such as LABI and conservative legislators earlier spoke out against having another special session in June. They say it’s too soon for another tax-raising special session because it’s still unclear exactly how much revenue Louisiana will gain from new taxes passed during the first special session.
According to the poll, just 42% of respondents say they think businesses pay too much in taxes, while 21% say businesses don’t pay enough. About 29% of those polled say they think businesses pay the right amount.
As for the state’s fiscal problems, 63% of the respondents say the state’s financial problems are primarily caused by too much spending while 29% say they are caused by “not enough revenue.”
See more of the survey results.
—Alexandria Burris
