Louisiana
Governor’s Tax Package Seeks To Make Louisiana More Competitive
Louisiana State Capital in Baton Rouge
The first half of the 2020s has been marked by two dominant policy and political trends in state capitals: the expansion of school choice, coupled with the lowering and flattening of personal income tax rates. While these trends are poised to persist in the coming year, most lawmakers and governors will have to wait until 2025 to advance the next round of reforms. In Louisiana, however, lawmakers aren’t going to wait until the new year to overhaul their tax code in a way that will reduce income tax rates for individuals and employers.
On the first day of October, Governor Jeff Landry (R-La.) announced that he’s convening a special session of the Louisiana Legislature next month for the purpose of reforming the state tax code in a way that will lower income tax rates and broaden the sales tax base. Governor Landry is asking state legislators to approve ten bills comprising his tax reform package when they return to Baton Rouge for the November special session.
The current tax system in Louisiana assesses a 1.85% tax on the first $12,500 in earnings, while income between $12,500 and $50,000 is taxed at a 3.5% rate. Income above $50,000 is then taxed at a 4.25% rate. If Gov. Landry’s proposal is enacted, Louisiana would tax all income beyond $12,500 at a 3% rate. With the standard deduction raised to $12,500 under Landry’s proposal, income below that level would be free from taxation moving forward.
“This plan will provide an immediate increase in take-home pay for every Louisiana taxpayer,” Gov. Landry said of his proposal during the Oct. 1 press conference. Landry described his tax package as “moving from taxing your labor to your choices.”
Beyond the initial restructuring of state income tax brackets and rates, Governor Landry says his plan could put Louisiana on the path to completely phase out its personal income tax by 2030. “I hate income tax,” Landry said at the October 1 press conference, adding that “a man and woman’s labor should never be owned by the government.”
The goal of income tax elimination is appealing to many Louisianans who see the neighboring state of Texas, along with nearby Florida and Tennessee, thriving without any state income tax. In fact, those states have been experiencing some of the nation’s largest population gains in recent years.
Landry is not the only governor in the region working toward a phaseout of his state’s income tax. Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders (R) and Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) have not only declared their intention to repeal their state income tax, they’ve signed numerous rate-reducing bills making progress toward that goal.
Landry’s tax package would also repeal the corporate franchise tax and move the corporate income tax from a progressive structure with a top rate of 7.5% to a flat rate of 3.5%. Fewer than 20 states levy a corporate franchise tax and many of them have been working to phase those down in recent years.
“Governor Landry’s sweeping tax reform proposal will dramatically improve the state’s economic climate by providing a tax cut for every taxpayer, simplifying business taxes, broadening the tax base, and ending the punishing franchise tax,” says Daniel Erspamer, chief executive officer of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a Lousiana-based think tank. “When paired with meaningful restraint of recurring government spending, this plan will act as rocket fuel to the state’s economy and signal to the tens of thousands of our kids and grandkids who’ve left to find opportunity elsewhere – not to mention entrepreneurs and job creators – that Louisiana wants them back.”
Critics of Landry’s tax proposal have attacked it as one that benefits “the rich.” Landry administration officials have responded by pointing out how, under their proposal, upper income taxpayers would actually end up paying a greater share of income tax collections than is now the case.
In remarks to the Louisiana House Ways & Means Committee earlier this month, state Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson testified that under Gov. Landry’s tax package, the richest 10% of Louisiana taxpayers would pay 61% of total income tax collections. Under the current tax system, the top 10% of filers pay approximately 55% of all income taxes.
In addition to legislative approval, Governor Landry’s plan also entails voter approval of a constitutional amendment to repeal local inventory taxes, consolidate funds, and make other changes. The start date for the November session has yet to be announced, but is expected to take place some time after Election Day. Should Landry’s tax package be adopted, Louisiana would head into 2025 with a tax code that is more regionally, nationally, and globally competitive than is currently the case.
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New legislation in Baton Rouge would reclassify some illegal gaming-related offenses as racketeering law violations, elevating potential consequences.
Louisiana has already stepped up its enforcement of its gaming laws related to potential illegal gaming but a new bill in the state legislature would give prosecutors’ actions more teeth. The proposal would elevate certain crimes involving unlicensed gaming in the state to a racketeering charge with more severe penalties linked to convictions.
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Louisiana bill changes classification of gaming-related charges
Louisiana Rep. Bryan Fontenot has pre-filed HB 53, which could rewrite the state code as it pertains to unlicensed gaming sites. The legislation has been provisionally assigned to the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, as the 2026 session does not begin until March 9.
Under the proposal, the state’s definition of racketeering would expand to include “gambling, gambling by computer, gambling on cockfights, gambling by electronic sweepstakes, unlawful wagering, and bribery of sports participants.” Under current statutes, racketeering convictions carry penalties of fines of “not more than one million dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor for not more than 50 years, or both.”
Additionally, racketeering convictions that result in sentences of fines of at least $10,000 revoke recipients’ eligibility for parole. The enactment of this bill as currently composed could have a significant impact on the operation of sweepstakes-based online casino sites for real money in Louisiana.
At the same time, many of the companies in that space have already ceased potentially infringing actions within Louisiana.
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Louisiana has already been off-limits for sweepstakes casinos
In 2025, Louisiana gaming regulators and law enforcement took multiple actions to restrict residents’ access to unlicensed platforms for playing casino games online. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill shared a public notice about the illegality of sweepstakes-based online gaming sites, in addition to issuing cease-and-desist orders to the companies affiliated with those sites. As a result, many of the operators of those sites geofenced Louisiana out of their service areas.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board supplemented that action with its additional cease-and-desist letters. Fontenot’s bill could add additional weight to these demands if it becomes law.
There is currently no legal framework for playing online casino games or redeeming casino bonus codes in Louisiana. While online sports wagering is legal in most of the state, officials in Baton Rouge have not yet tackled the issue of iGaming.
Even if voters in Louisiana someday do clear the way for the utilization of Fanatics Casino promo codes, that would involve licensed gaming and not affect the implementation of Fontenot’s bill. However, such deliberations do not seem imminent.
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If HB 53 becomes law, Louisiana could levy some of the toughest penalties for illegal gaming activity in the United States. Many potential targets of prosecution have already pulled out of the state.
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Commerical Driver’s License (CDL) Training
In partnership with the Louisiana Workforce Commission and South Louisiana Community College, this program aims to provide African American males with financial assistance to obtain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training, strengthening the resilience and contributions of this key demographic and improving equitable access to workforce opportunities. This initiative aims to reduce high unemployment rates within this community but also focuses on ensuring participants come from rural and economically disadvantaged areas.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Gov. Jeff Landry is asking Louisiana’s congressional leaders to amend the state’s federal judicial districts, citing caseload growth and public safety concerns.
Landry sent letters to Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. John Kennedy, Congressman Cleo Fields, and Congresswoman Julia Letlow requesting the change.
The request
Louisiana is currently divided into three federal judicial districts: Eastern, Middle, and Western. Landry is asking that West Feliciana Parish be moved from the Middle District to the Western District.
In the letters, Landry cited significant growth in the Middle District and an increased caseload for its judges. He said a major driver of the Middle District docket is Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Public safety argument
Landry said moving West Feliciana Parish into the Western District would improve judicial efficiency and better address public safety needs in East Baton Rouge Parish and the state.
He said East Baton Rouge Parish continues to battle violent crime. According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, recent numbers show violent crime in the parish has decreased.
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