Small business advocate points to legislative wins

Small business has scored some victories in Washington and Baton Rouge, a state representative for the National Federation of Independent Business told a St. Mary Chamber audience Wednesday. The organization is hoping for at least one more big win by the end of the year.
Dawn Starns McVea, Louisiana’s NFIB representative, spoke at the Chambers’ monthly Business Luncheon at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City.
McVea believes sales tax centralization will be passed by the Legislature as a constitutional amendment and appear on ballots again this fall.
The amendment would have put sales tax collections in the hands of the state government rather than at the parish level. The proposed amendment failed 52%-48% at the ballot box in November.
Some local officials objected to centralization, saying it could lead to delays in access to sales tax collections by cities and other taxing authorities.
Proponents said it would ease the burden on businesses that operate across multiple parishes. McVea described centralization as bringing collections into the 21st century.
One key victory was Gov. John Bel Edwards’ commitment to adding $500 million to Louisiana’s unemployment trust fund, raising the fund above the $750 million level below which increased taxes are imposed on employers.
Now, McVea said, the state should move to allow the Louisiana Workforce Commission, which administers the unemployment insurance program, to communicate with other state agencies to prevent fraud.
When federal enhancements to unemployment benefits were enacted early in the COVID pandemic, $400 million went to people who weren’t eligible, state Attorney General Jeff Landry reported. That included $6.2 million to incarcerated people and $1 million in the name of people who had died.
Small business proponents also leveraged support for one anti-litter program against a piece of anti-litter legislation — a ban on single-use plastic bags used by merchants.
The bag ban died in the Legislature. The NFIB got behind the “Love the Boot” anti-litter campaign.
McVea praised the region’s state and federal legislative delegations for being business-friendly. She singled out state Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, for his work to cut and simplify taxes.
Allain is pushing the idea of consolidating sales tax audits so businesses don’t have to deal with multiple agencies.