State government has jeopardized billions of dollars in industrial investment by hiking taxes on business, says Louisiana Chemical Association President Dan Borné.
“What the Louisiana Legislature has done for the last several months is develop the best economic incentive program that Texas has ever seen,” Borné told those gathered at a petrochemical industry conference in New Orleans today. “Texas has scale, so we can’t just be as good as Texas when it comes to industrial incentives; we have to be better than Texas.” Borné was a guest speaker during the opening session of the two-day Petrochemical Engineering and Construction Conference taking place at the New Orleans Downtown Marriott at the Convention Center.
The event is attended by 700 petrochemical owners, designers and contractors.
Borné said recent actions by the Legislature and Gov. John Bel Edwards have resulted in $2 billion in additional taxes for the Louisiana business community, specifically taxes on sales, utilities, natural gas and inventory.
“The business community is getting the blame for many years of poor planning on the part of the state in regards to fiscal, revenue and budget matters,”Borné said. “This is putting us at a tremendous disadvantage for future investment.”
He added that a large portion of the $140 billion in industrial investment announced in Louisiana since 2012 could be in jeopardy, given that the projects have yet to break ground.
Borné said the LCA and other industry groups plan to bring a “rational set of principles” to the Legislature and governor outlining a process for government revenue and taxation reform that is more favorable to industrial investment and the business community.
“We at LCA are concerned about all of the factors that impact investment, but this change in business climate, and how government looks at business in Louisiana, has evolved into a situation that we think will severely impact our state,” he said. “You can’t sugar coat that.”
LCA comprises 65 multinational chemical manufacturers operating approximately 100 plants in Louisiana.
—Sam Barnes
