Louisiana voters will vote on four proposed amendments to our Constitution on November 13.
Here are the four amendments, as presented on the ballot:
Amendment 1 “Do you support an amendment authorizing the legislator to provide for the simplified electronic filing, electronic remittance and collection of sales and use taxes collected in the State by the Commission for Rationalized Sales and Use Taxes of state and locality and provide for the funding, tasks and responsibilities of the commission? ”
Amendment 2 “Do you support an amendment to lower the maximum allowable rate of personal income tax and to allow the legislature to provide by law a deduction for federal income taxes paid?” ”
Amendment 3 “Do you support an amendment to allow dyke districts created after January 1, 2006 and before October 9, 2021, whose voters approve the amendment to levy an annual tax not exceeding five miles for the purpose of construction and dike maintenance, dike drainage, flood protection and hurricane flood protection? ”
Amendment 4 “Do you support an amendment to increase the amount of deficit reductions allowed for statutory commitments and constitutionally protected funds from five percent to ten percent?”
As always, the Public Affairs Research Council, a non-partisan research group, prepared an analysis of each amendment.
You can read the full document here. It sets out what each amendment proposes and gives the arguments for and against which are advanced.
According to PAR, “the first two amendments are heavy tax reform proposalsâ€.
“Amendment # 1 takes important steps toward consolidating and streamlining our unusually fragmented state and local sales tax system. Amendment # 2 proposes a major overhaul of our tax rates and deductions on State revenue. Amendment 3 only affects a handful of local dykes districts, but could be particularly important given recent events. Amendment 4 aims to free up dedicated funds in the event of a deficit budget, â€says the document.
“In any disclosure, readers should be aware that PAR has produced years of research showing the need for the kinds of changes that would be brought about by Amendments 1 and 2. PAR was invited to present its findings to legislative committees and testified that The proposed changes align with PAR’s recommendations. However, PAR has made an effort to provide a thorough review of the issues and strive for a balanced approach with this guide, â€the document states.
