The Latest: Senate refuses to limit manufacturer tax break

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on the Louisiana Legislature’s tax debate (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

State senators have rejected a proposal to limit a property tax break given to manufacturers in Louisiana.

Sen. J.P. Morrell, a New Orleans Democrat, wanted to scale back the program so it couldn’t apply to the portion of property taxes dedicated to public schools.

But the constitutional amendment proposal ran into a wall of opposition from business groups, particularly the Louisiana Chemical Association.

Opponents said the change would make Louisiana less competitive for economic development deals.

Morrell said similar industrial property tax exemption programs in other states, including Mississippi and Texas, carve out the money for schools like he is proposing to do.

That wasn’t enough to persuade his colleagues. Only 13 senators voted for the bill, while 24 voted against it. The constitutional amendment needed 26 votes to pass.

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3 p.m.

The House tax committee has rejected income tax changes pushed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, dealing another blow to his effort to rewrite Louisiana tax laws.

The Democratic governor already had shelved his main business tax proposal rather than face certain defeat from the majority-Republican Ways and Means Committee.

The income tax approach refused Tuesday had been championed by a legislatively-created task force to improve Louisiana’s tax structure and stabilize its finances.

It would have done away with an income tax deduction people and businesses get for the federal income taxes they pay. In exchange, income tax rates would drop for individual taxpayers, and tax rates would change in varying ways for corporations.

Most personal income taxpayers would receive a tax break, in exchange for shifting tax burden to business.