BATON ROUGE (AP) — To offset steep higher education cuts, Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is floating the idea of reshuffling Louisiana's tax break spending and creating a new tax break for businesses that donate to college campuses.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joel Robideaux says the Jindal administration offered the idea in conversations with legislative leaders.
He says the proposal would involve scaling back other tax breaks, possibly the film tax credit, to keep the new higher education tax break from costing the state any additional money.
The governor and lawmakers are searching for ways to soften the blow to higher education in the budget year that begins July 1. Cuts of up to $400 million are being considered for higher education next year to help cope with a $1.6 billion budget shortfall.
– by AP Reporter Melinda Deslatte
