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Attorney General Jeff Landry Urges Biden Administration to Respect Louisiana’s Ability to Cut Taxes

21 States Warn Language in American Rescue Plan Act Could Prevent States from Implementing Tax Relief

BATON ROUGE, LA - Louisiana
Attorney General Jeff Landry is urging the United States Department of Treasury to uphold Louisiana's right to cut taxes.

Joining
a coalition of fellow state attorneys general in a letter to Secretary Janet Yellin, Attorney General Landry notes that certain provisions in the recently passed, hyperpartisan American Rescue Plan Act forbid states from using COVID-19 relief funds to directly or indirectly offset a reduction in…net tax revenues resulting from state laws or regulations that reduce tax burdens, whether by cutting rates or by giving rebates, deductions, credits, or otherwise.

Attorney General Landry warns that this language could be used to deny Louisiana
and other states the ability to cut taxes in any manner, even if they would have provided tax relief with or without the prospect of COVID-19 relief funds. The letter urges the Department of Treasury to adopt a more common-sense interpretation of the language, warning that a broad interpretation would result in an unprecedented and unconstitutional intrusion on the sovereignty of the states.

We can not allow the federal government to usurp Louisiana’s constitutional authority to govern itself, said Attorney General Landry. If we do, it will be the end of state sovereignty.

Attorney General Landry and 20 of his colleagues from across the Nation
also warn that a single governor could accept stimulus funds and thereby bind both his state legislature and his successor from cutting any tax or tax assessments in the near future. This would be a clear intrusion by Congress upon the democratic structures of the states.

Accordingly, Attorney General Landry is asking the Treasury Department to confirm
that the American Rescue Act simply precludes express use of the relief funds to provide direct tax cuts. The attorneys general vow to take appropriate action if such a guarantee is not provided to ensure that states like Louisiana have the clarity and assurance needed to enact and implement sensible tax policies for its taxpayers.

Joining Attorney General Landry
in this call were the attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.