Phase-out of sales tax rejected by Senate panel

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A House-passed plan to phase out a temporary sales tax over the next three years was rejected Monday by a Senate committee.

The 0.45% sales tax was approved in 2018 and is set to expire in 2025.

Rep. Tony Bacala of Prairieville had proposed dropping the tax to 0.30% in mid-2023. It would have dropped to 0.15% the following year and disappeared as scheduled in 2025.

The House had passed Bacala’s measure but The Advocate reports that the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee decided, without objection, to keep it bottled up in committee.

Bacala, a Republican, said phasing out the tax would soften the $450 million loss of revenue. He has said he is not in favor of renewing the tax, and there has been little sentiment expressed for renewing it among legislators.

Opponents of the bill have objected to cutting revenue before the tax is set to expire.