by Bob Mann

It’s an article of faith among conservative politicians and business leaders that “business hates uncertainty.”

The Jindal administration does not like the latest The Advocate newspaper complaint about the Governor’s attempt to eliminate the Louisiana income tax.

Maybe Governor Jindal finally listened to the Louisiana voters as he shelved his ill-conceived and little-supported tax swap plan. 

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's tax swap reform plan is opening to mixed reviews in Louisiana but not in conservative quarters outside of the state.

Yesterday, Governor Jindal appeared before two legislative committees to give more details about his tax plan. While it is a worthy objective to eliminate income taxes, Louisiana cannot afford the label of having the highest sales taxes in the nation.

LA’s newest tax collector

Every state relies primarily on one or more of three taxes to raise revenue:  income, sales and property.  None is perfect or pleasant.  It's more a case of "pick your poison," and then try to achieve fairness by keeping rates low and the base broad, so everyone pays a little bit.

Governor Jindal’s plan to eliminate the state income tax and raise the state sales tax is being met with opposition on both political fronts but will actually bolster the Governor politically whether it passes or is defeated.

Louisiana tax reform is fast becoming the big topic of discussion as the Louisiana legislative session approaches.

There has much debate, especially in conservative circles, about a national sales tax or a value added tax as a way to raise significant revenue for the federal government while reducing its reliance on personal and corporate income taxes, if not eliminating them altogether.