The Louisiana chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business plans to press for tax cuts in light of the state’s surplus of dollars.

Tax changes, including the potential elimination of state income taxes, are expected to be a hot topic during the legislative session that starts next week, along with how making those changes will affect revenue to pay for services. 

Dawn Starns McVea, state director for the NFIB, mentions the inventory tax—which local governments charge businesses that the state reimburses with tax credits—as a target for reduction or elimination.

“We ultimately want to get out of being the middleman for funding local government,” she says. 

Workforce development issues NFIB wants to address include reducing “red tape” to make it easier to hire teens, pointing to recent legislation in Arkansas, which McVea says will help develop soft skills sooner. The group also backs a proposal to allow employers to report to the Louisiana Workforce Commission job applicants who don’t show up for interviews while  getting unemployment benefits. 

McVea also plans to defend previous rate reductions and triggers that could lead to further cuts, and as usual will join with the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry in opposing any effort to set a state minimum wage above the federal wage floor. 

One issue important to NFIB where she doesn’t expect to see much movement is consolidation of state sales tax collection, which voters have rejected once before.

“Perhaps we take a year off and regroup with a new governor and a new set of legislators and see where we go from there,” she says.