A Budgetary Life Raft: An Analysis of Louisiana's State and Local Sales Tax

• Author: Hayden O. Bigby
• Position: J.D./D.C.L. 2019. Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University
• Pages: 1147-1175

Louisiana Law Review Louisiana Law Review

Volume 79

Number 4

Summer 2019

Article 10

6-19-2019

A Budgetary Life Raft: An Analysis of Louisiana's State and Local A Budgetary Life Raft: An Analysis of Louisiana's State and Local

Sales Tax Sales Tax

Hayden O. Bigby

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev

Part of the Tax Law Commons

Repository Citation Repository Citation

Hayden O. Bigby,

A Budgetary Life Raft: An Analysis of Louisiana's State and Local Sales Tax

, 79 La. L.

Rev. (2019)

Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol79/iss4/10

This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at LSU Law Digital

Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Louisiana Law Review by an authorized editor of LSU Law Digital

Commons. For more information, please contact kreed25@lsu.edu.

A Budgetary Life Raft: An Analysis of Louisiana’s

State and Local Sales Tax

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................ 1147

I. History and Function of Louisiana Sales Tax ............................ 1149

A. Louisiana State Tax History: Where Does

the Money Come From? ...................................................... 1149

B. Louisiana Sales Tax Currently ............................................. 1152

1. Revenue, Rate, and Expenses ........................................ 1152

2. Rulemaking and Compliance ........................................ 1153

3. Exemptions and Exclusions .......................................... 1154

II. Equity, Efficiency, and Administration of

Louisiana Sales Tax ................................................................... 1156

A. Equity: How Fair is Louisiana’s Sales Tax? ........................ 1156

1. Vertical Equity .............................................................. 1157

2. Horizontal Equity .......................................................... 1160

B. Revenue Raising .................................................................. 1162

C. Administration ..................................................................... 1165

III. How Louisiana Can Improve the State and

Local Tax System ....................................................................... 1168

A. Broadening the Base and Lowering the Rate ....................... 1168

B. Unifying the State and Local Tax Base

and Collection System ......................................................... 1172

Conclusion .................................................................................. 1174

INTRODUCTION

Louisiana recently faced significant budget deficits, as Governor John

Bel Edwards’s suggestion of possibly cutting a Louisiana State University

football season evidences.1 Rather than send Louisiana residents into an

uproar over football, legislators instead chose to fill the budget deficit by

Copyright 2019, by HAYDEN O. BIGBY.

1. Julia O’Donoghue, Louisiana’s Budget is a Hot Mess: How We Got Here,

TIMES-PICAYUNE (Feb. 19, 2016), http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016

/02/louisiana_is_in_a_budget_mess.html [https://perma.cc/YRY8-G8FE].