October 22
October 22, 2007
Richard Weaver
October 24, 2007(AP) To stimulate business investment and create jobs, Louisiana should eliminate its corporate income tax and its corporate franchise tax, the head of a tax research group says.
“These things would make a bold statement to the nation,” said Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation told the Bureau of Governmental Research last Wednesday.
BGR president Janet Howard said her watchdog group would like to convene a discussion about how to create a rational tax policy because it is an immediate tool the state could use to develop its economy.
High corporate tax rates translate into higher prices, lower wages for consumers and workers and lower returns for shareholders.
Hodge said Louisiana, which rates 32nd in the U.S., should be more worried about economic competition from other states rather than foreign nations. Aggravating the situation is that Louisiana is surrounded by lower-tax states, Hodge said.
“You have more to fear from Indiana than India,” Hodge said.
