Here’s a look at some of NFIB/Louisiana’s victories during the 2011 legislative session:
Helped prevent an estimated $2.8 billion in new or increased taxes and fees. Thanks to the vocal support from members like you, we successfully opposed legislation that would have:
- Increased the homestead exemption from $75,000 to $100,000, then adjust it based on the consumer price index.
- Jacked up the motor-vehicle license tax from $10 to $30 a year, saving taxpayers about $30 million a year.
- Increased vehicle registration fees from a $10 per vehicle to $10 plus $1 per $1,000 of value, meaning that the registration fee on a $20,000 car would have been $30 a year; fees for trucks would have been calculated differently. If passed, the change would have cost Louisianans $131 million a year.
- Suspended the individual income tax deduction for excess federal itemized personal deductions in the current year. This would have amounted to a tax increase of $335 million a year.
- Cut the excess itemized deduction to 50%, saving taxpayers $166 million a year.
- Prevented a 1-cent increase on the tax on business utilities and reduced tax deductions by 10% until 2014, saving $137 million.
- Opposed a tax on the transportation of natural gas pipelines, avoiding an additional $2 billion a year in taxes.
Fought to kill the so-called “Equal Pay for Women Act,” legislation that simply wasn’t necessary – federal law already prevents wage discrimination based on gender – but would have opened the door to more lawsuits filed by disgruntled and former employees.
Killed the “Workplace Fraud Prevention Act,” which called for harsh penalties on the first violation for misclassifying employees as independent contractors.
Successfully opposed bill requiring merchants to request a photo ID before accepting debit or credit cards and prohibiting them from asking personal information during a transaction.
Passed legislation preventing public agencies from requiring project labor agreements as a condition for bidding on contracts.