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With the state taking away their sales tax exemption, commercial fishermen in Terrebonne are asking the parish to mitigate the effects.
Kim Chauvin addressed the Terrebonne Parish Council on behalf of the commercial fishing industry during last week’s council meeting. Chauvin asked the council to consider a parish sales tax exemption on supplies, materials and equipment that commercial fishers buy for work.
The request comes in light of the state suspending a long-standing sales tax exemption for fishers during the special session. In an effort to raise revenue to address Louisiana’s budget deficit, legislators approved HCR 4, which suspended a number of sales tax exemptions, including the one for commercial fishers. However, catfish and crawfish farmers kept their coffers intact, as their exemptions avoided the chopping block.
“I’m thinking if you have really big industries in the state, you may want to reconsider and keep those going,” Chauvin said. “That’s not what happened here. How can you exempt craw-fishermen and catfishermen but take out all the rest of us? Hell, the shrimp industry is [larger] than any of them.”
Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove said he was “outraged” when he saw crawfish farmers kept their exemptions. The former state representative said he is speaking with his contacts in Baton Rouge and the Bayou Region delegation about reinstating the fishermen’s exemption during a likely special session before the next regular session. Dove said Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, is set to present a bill during that session that would reapply the exemption.
Chauvin said if the state exemption returns, local fishermen would not seek a parish exemption.
Dove said his administration is investigating how much the proposal would cost the parish in sales tax revenues.
Chauvin wants any proposed parish exemption to specifically target commercial fishermen. Those with licenses would have to prove they earned at least 50 percent of their income from fishing, although Chauvin said she is not opposed to the parish raising the income threshold higher. She said although the parish measure would not fully replenish what is lost on the state side, it would be a help to an already limping industry.
“It’s not that it’s a heck of a lot, but it matters. It matters to our industry and to those who commercially fish. And it’s not all fishermen that do this. This is for fishermen who can prove that at least 50 percent of their income comes from fishing. We want it to go up to 100 percent,” Chauvin said.
Losing that exemption comes as the local shrimp industry continues to fight with the import market. Imported shrimp, mass produced in shrimp farms, sell in bulk at low prices, depressing prices for shrimpers here. The lower prices mean local shrimpers have to either eat losses on their earnings, or increase their volume to make up the difference.
“You just keep losing more of your profits. You still have some profits, but you have to go back, and you have to figure out how to do this. Some of it’s like gear, some of it is you’re catching more, you’re working harder to catch more,” Chauvin explained.
Aside from official measures the parish can take to buoy the seafood industry, Chauvin said consumers can make a difference by placing a premium on local shrimp, which do not have the preservatives imported shrimp do,
and possess a more natural taste.
“Consumers need to be educated about where the shrimp comes from. You know, they have to start asking restaurants and asking if they can see boxes and read labels in the grocery store, stuff like that. So they can be sure they’re buying Louisiana shrimp, or domestic shrimp,” Chauvin said.
Council members expressed support for the struggling industry.
District 9 Councilman Steve Trosclair, who represents the southernmost part of the parish, told Chauvin that while the parish still needs to look further into granting the tax exemption before making a decision, he would stand behind the seafood industry.
“We need to protect that industry. It’s a vital part of our economy,” he said.
Council Chairman John Navy also expressed support for the fishing industry. He stressed the value of a diverse economy and maintaining a way of life for many people in Terrebonne.
“This is a vital part of our history. We still have to diversify our economy as best we can, and the seafood industry is the heartbeat of Terrebonne Parish. I understand the oil and gas industry is the moneymaker and where the jobs are at,” Navy said. “But still, you have people out there that want to go out there and be commercial fishermen, they want to sell seafood. That’s part of their life; that’s part of their culture. They should be able to do that. We should be able to support that.”
Chauvin said state legislators could have been shortsighted in their rush to grab revenue, not realizing the impact they were having on local, small businesses.
“We are a vital part of the economy of this state. I think when you hit down on mom and pop businesses because the oil industry is doing bad, it’s almost like a punishment,” she said.
Kim Chauvin with one of her family’s three boats, currently dry docked for annual maintenance. Local fishermen are asking Terrebonne Parish for a parish sales tax exemption to make up for the exemption the state recently suspended.
