In the voting booth: A special election is set for April 29 to fill the Louisiana Senate seat vacated by Troy Brown, who resigned rather than face likely expulsion. The Associated Press reports Senate President John Alario issued a proclamation today setting the election date for the District 2 seat. A runoff will be May 27 if needed. The sign-up period for candidates will be from March 15-17. Brown is a Democrat involved in two domestic violence incidents. He resigned last week after senators moved ahead with historic proceedings aimed at removing him. Brown pleaded no contest twice over the past year to misdemeanor charges involving abuse against women. He served jail time last month. The Senate district includes portions of St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. James, Iberville, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Assumption and Lafourche parishes.
Long-term planning: Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement, Bloomberg reports. U.S. Census Bureau researchers estimate that only about a third of workers are saving in a 401(k) or similar tax-deferred retirement plan. In addition, the gap is far wider than expected between the number of employers offering retirement plans and the number of workers saving in them. New estimates found that two-thirds of all Americans don’t contribute anything to a 401(k) or other retirement account available through their employer. Millions aren’t saving on the job because they either don’t have access to a workplace retirement plan or they do but aren’t putting money in it. Many just can’t spare the cash. Read more.
In writing: The CEOs of 16 companies—including Boeing, Caterpillar and General Electric— have urged Congress to pass a comprehensive tax code rewrite, including a controversial border tax. Reuters reports that in a letter to Republican and Democratic leadership today, the CEOs say a Republican-proposed border adjustment tax would make U.S.-manufactured products more competitive abroad and at home by making imported goods face the same level of taxation. The letter is the latest move in a back-and-forth lobbying effort from companies over changes to the tax code. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan has proposed lowering the corporate income tax to 20% from 35%, imposing a 20% tax on imports and excluding export revenue from taxable income. The proposal has drawn opposition from large U.S. corporations that require imports, like retailers and auto manufacturers. Read more.
