NFIB State Director Dawn McVea said today that the state’s leading small business advocacy organization has joined six nonpartisan organizations in calling on the Louisiana legislature to use the state’s budget surplus to pass a responsible budget and provide meaningful tax relief to create more economic opportunity for Louisianans.

With Louisiana job creators struggling in this economic environment, McVea said that the legislature has an obligation to provide tax relief.

“Our neighbor, Mississippi, is looking to cut or eliminate its income tax while addressing its infrastructure needs. Louisianans deserve the same resolve from their lawmakers,” McVea said. “We can’t afford to get this wrong. Our state’s budget surplus provides plenty of revenue to shore up our Rainy Day Fund, fix our infrastructure, and cut taxes for hardworking families.

“We hope lawmakers will come together to move our state forward.”

In a letter, the organizations outline four principles for lawmakers to keep in mind during the budget process:

• Avoid exceeding the expenditure limit to grow government.
• Fully fund the Rainy Day Fund to save for the future and hit revenue triggers in order to lower individual income and corporate franchise taxes as promised.
• Pay down long-term debt to free up future budget resources and invest in our state workers’ retirements.
• Ensure spending of one-time surplus and excess revenues are on genuinely shovel-ready transportation and infrastructure projects.

The full letter may be viewed here: