Gov. Bobby Jindal said today his administration is working on a plan to help lessen the blow of next year’s anticipated $1.6 billion shortfall—adjusting tax credits that are in excess of the amount of taxes owed.
Jindal, who presents his budget to the Legislature later this month, declined to estimate how much this new approach might raise revenues, but he suggested it would help mitigate some of the damage to dramatic cuts that are anticipated in higher education and health care.
“We’re working on solutions to help protect higher education and health care,” Jindal said following remarks at the groundbreaking of the Water Campus. “We’re talking about tax credits and rebates that go above and beyond a company’s actual tax liability.”
Jindal said he has asked Department of Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret to look at expenditures so “we can achieve additional budget savings and continue to help protect higher education and health care. This is incredibly important. We’ve made great progress in recent years.”
Jindal was joined at today’s groundbreaking by local elected officials, business leaders and LSU President F. King Alexander, who has been very vocal in recent weeks about what an estimated $360 million cut to higher education would do to the Baton Rouge campus. There, the impact of the cuts would amount to some $65 million and result in the elimination of dozens of degree programs and more than 100 faculty positions, Alexander has said.
At the groundbreaking today, Alexander and Jindal stood side by side and joked among themselves several times. When it was his turn to speak, Alexander thanked the governor for “working with us to get through some of these budget issues.” —Stephanie Riegel
