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Are Republicans Looking To Get Rid Of The Income Tax?

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It appears a proposal we haven't seen seriously brought up since the Jindal administration may be on the table again soon, if the House Ways and Means Committee decides to move ahead with it. Greg Hillburn with the USAToday Network is reporting that the removal of the state income tax may be looked at again.

Republican Mandeville Rep. Richard Nelson believes dropping the state income tax would put Louisiana on a path to compete with booming economies in Florida and Texas, two states that don't tax personal income.

"This is really for all the marbles," Nelson said in an interview with USA Today Network. "Our tax code is the fundamental problem we face that is holding us back."

Nelson and others who support the elimination hope to craft a plan to overhaul Louisiana's tax code during a series of at least four meetings of the House Ways and Means Committee, the panel that writes tax policy along with its Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs counterpart.

Republican House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Stuart Bishop of Lafayette has scheduled the first meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, prompted by Nelson's House Resolution 178 passed in the Legislature during its spring session.

This would be a very interesting proposition indeed. Louisiana residents' tax burden is already fairly comparable to other states in the region, but switching away from an income tax isn't about saving money but rather time. The complex tax code at the state level (let's not even get into the national level) is nearly impossible to navigate without professional assistance, and some lawmakers want to fix that. However, such a move has to be revenue-neutral, meaning you'll see a combination of sales or property tax (or both!) jump up.

Warning Signs For Democrats

This analysis from the New York Times is a pretty big red flag for Democrats, who have been publicly cheering what appears to be a positive surge in polling. But, as that surge levels out, there is evidence that the polling we have is skewed toward Democrats much in the same way it was in 2016 and 2020.

“It raises the possibility that the apparent Democratic strength in Wisconsin and elsewhere is a mirage,” Cohn explains. “An artifact of persistent and unaddressed biases in survey research.”

This analysis comes the same day as analysis from NBC News on the Senate race in Nevada.

Cantell Refuses To Pay Back City Because Of "Safety"

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has been under fire for many things, but one of the biggest recent issues is $29,000 worth of travel upgrades that, legally, she is on the hook for. However, she has come out and said that she won't be paying the city back for those upgrades.

However, what has made headlines is the fact that she claims her travel upgrades were not about luxury, but instead about her health and safety as a black woman.

Cantrell last month defended the sky-high amount of taxpayer dollars she spent on herself by claiming it was all about her safety — and not luxury.

“As all women know, our health and safety are often disregarded and we are left to navigate alone,” she told the Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate in August.

“As the mother of a young child whom I live for, I am going to protect myself by any reasonable means in order to ensure I am there to see her grow into the strong woman I am raising her to be,” she continued.

“Anyone who wants to question how I protect myself just doesn’t understand the world Black women walk in.”

Cantrell is currently under recall, and while there appears to be broad support for it, there is a lot of skepticism among political observers as to whether or not the recall will be successful.

Headlines Of The Day

  • How Gisele Bündchen is supporting Tom Brady for Buccaneers opener after spat (NY Post)
  • Ex-Trump lawyer Ty Cobb says ex-president faces ‘very high’ chance of indictment -(Yahoo)
  • Michael Irvin Rips Idea of Colin Kaepernick Signing With the Dallas Cowboys (RedState)
  • LSU Coach Brian Kelly talks win over Southern, looks ahead to Mississippi State (WBRZ)
  • Republicans have a 74% chance of winning the House (FiveThirtyEight)

Tweet Of The Day

The Best Fall Cooking Louisiana Has To Offer

Get your roux, trinity, and andouille together. It's time for the best Cajun and Creole cooking to celebrate the fall weather.

Louisiana B&B Association's 5 Most Haunted Spots in The State

The Louisiana Bed & Breakfast Association has named their 5 Most Haunted Spots in the state. You can see their full post here.

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