BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards is backing a plan for the special session starting Tuesday that favors sales taxes to fill Louisiana's budget gap.
The Democratic governor is supporting renewal of up to half the 1 percent sales tax that expires in six weeks. He's also proposing to permanently get rid of some sales tax breaks and continue charging sales taxes on business utilities.
But Edwards also says he's open to other ideas, and he's included a long list of tax options in the parameters for the budget-balancing session.
He wants to raise $648 million for the budget year that begins July 1.
The question is whether the House will break through its partisan gridlock in the upcoming 14-day session after a February special session on taxes cratered.
– by Melinda Deslatte, AP reporter
