Exploring Long-Term Solutions for Louisiana’s Tax System

In light of the major fiscal problems the Louisiana state government has experienced over the past decade, Exploring Long-Term Solutions for Louisiana’s Tax System by James A. Richardson, James Alm, and Steven M. Sheffrin re-examines the state’s underlying tax structure, which was created in the 1970s—its long-term stability, its basic fairness among taxpayers, its overall competitiveness, and its simplicity—and offers specific suggestions for improvements. This important study invokes standard economic principles to the current Louisiana tax structure and suggests several reforms, ranging from the state’s use of the sales tax, its application of the individual income tax, its structure of corporate taxation, and its use of other taxes such as mineral revenues. In engaging and readable prose, Exploring Long-Term Solutions for Louisiana’s Tax System shows how advocating for these reforms and a level of public expenditures that can readily adapt to potential changes in the state’s economy and natural resources, Louisiana can ensure that its future will not only be funded, but also prosperous.