(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Robert Mann
Jindal administration officials today released a list of the various services, previously tax exempt, that would be subject to a 5.88 percent sales tax under the governor’s proposed tax “reform” proposal.
If you eliminate income and corporate taxes, you must make up the difference somewhere. Altogether, the services Jindal wants to tax would raise $1.4 billion in additional revenue.
This from the governor who once refused to support the simple renewal of a 4-cent cigarette tax because, in his estimation, it was a “tax increase.”
The new services Jindal wants to tax include everything from haircuts to lawn maintenance to tax preparation to veterinary care. And that’s on top of an enormous increase in existing sales taxes.
In other words, in order to abolish taxes for the wealthy and corporations, you’ll be hit with a 47 percent sale tax hike — plus, another $1.4 billion in new sales taxes.
Perhaps it would be easier if Jindal just released the much-shorter list of items he will not propose taxing.
Here’s a partial list of what would be taxed under Jindal’s plan:
- Couriers and messengers services
- Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services
- Custom computer programming services
- Advertising related services
- Photographic services
- Veterinary services
- All other miscellaneous professional, scientific, and technical services
- Travel arrangement and reservation services
- Investigation and security services
- Services to buildings and dwellings
- Waste management and remediation services
- Cable and other subscription services
- Data processing‐ hosting‐ ISP‐ web search portals
- Performing arts
- Independent artists, writers, and performers
- Personal care services
Related articles
- Proposed sales tax on services would hit all aspects of daily life (indeonline.com)
- Lucky Duckies: Jindal tax plan forces poor to pay their fair share (bobmannblog.com)
- Some straight talk for Bobby Jindal: Dude, you are not going to be president (bobmannblog.com)
- Jindal’s tax-swap outline leaves many questions unanswered (louisianaweekly.com)
- Jindal plan would remove income, raise state sales tax to 5.88% (ktbs.com)
Retired teachers currently do not pay state income tax; therefore, the items that will be taxed will be an added cost for them.
That is right. Thanks for pointing that out. -Bob
Bob did you get a gander at the exemptions that will be removed?
http://dailykingfish.com/2013/03/19/drafttaxswap/
Good point. I need to post that, too.
Some of them are pretty amazing: No tax holiday for hurricane prep and a number of others that kind of caused a raised eyebrow on my part.
When the taxing of artists, writers and ad services came up over 25+ years ago , the local ad club (Northeast la)spent days at the capital speaking out. After several ad agency members were made into victims of the system,( as the test case to be taxed), the idea was finally deleted . It took it’s toil on the agency’s that were caught in between, making them close doors. How do you tax a writer for his or her words? or a photographer for capturing the moment? I guess Gov Jindal has never known what “living in the moment is” or maybe he does now, waiting for his presidency to take over the world.
With his hand he destroys so many people. By the way check out the story in today’s #News Star in Monroe where he slashed the seniors meals on wheels. Basically”killing slowly” our area mothers and fathers that so need food daily to survive. I rode with the meals on wheels last week, the driver was wonderful with the seniors. That #meals driver Cora Hall is basically now driving for free since her funds were also cut. Thanks Gov…. killing off your state slowly ……with your hand and ego. But then with each slow last labored chest rise Jindal has saved money and that is one last people for medicare or medicade or hospital service.
Where is even a nominal tax increase on investment income? I assume that’s considered “income tax” as well and therefore must be kept at zero to accommodate the base…oh, sorry, I meant “job creators”.
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