A central part of Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to revamp the state’s tax laws is struggling to gain the votes needed to pass, and some lawmakers have said the bill that would expand the sales tax to services and labor is dead in its current form. 

House Bill 9, sponsored by Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, was sidelined for the second day in a row Thursday as he chose not to bring it up for a vote on the House floor. The measure would expand the state sales tax to apply to a list of more than 40 services, including lawn care, massage therapy and various home repair offerings. 

Similar legislation to place sales taxes on online streaming subscriptions and other digital services cleared the House on Wednesday. 

Riser, who represents a rural area of northeast Louisiana, expressed the precarious nature of the situation in an interview on the House floor as lawmakers adjourned for the day, saying there’s nothing in the bill that could be changed to gain support from one lawmaker without losing support from another. 

“It’s like a ripple in time,” Riser said.

His bill is part of a package Gov. Landry proposed offering lower personal and business income taxes in exchange for more sales taxes and fewer tax credits. Supporters of the plan maintain its measures would bring more business and jobs to the state. 

For a special session that must end by 6 p.m. Nov. 25, the current pace of legislation doesn’t bode well for the original package of bills.

Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said in an interview Riser’s proposal has been a particular sticking point for lawmakers.

“The services have been very difficult throughout this whole process because if you kept everybody in, that’s one thing,” Henry said. “But once you start breaking down and picking winners and losers, it became very difficult to justify.”

Tax bills in Louisiana require a two-thirds majority in each legislative chamber to pass.

From the start, a significant number of lawmakers from each political party have expressed reluctance about taxing services and labor. Some fear its impact will land hardest on lower income residents, and others are concerned with the cost and logistical burden placed on small businesses and sole proprietors. 

Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, said Riser’s bill would leave many small business owners with no choice but to hire accountants who would likely charge a premium because demand would “go through the roof.”

“Small businesses are going to be stampeding into accountants’ offices,” Bayham said. “And, by the way, whose services does the bill exempt from taxation? The accountants’.” 

He said he hopes the governor will realize parts of his plan could end up favoring large businesses over smaller ones. 

“We cannot be corporatists,” Bayham said. “We must help our small businesses along with our big businesses. Don’t favor one over the other.”

Sen. Gerald Boudreaux of Lafayette, who chairs his chamber’s Democratic Caucus, said the sheer number of new services to be taxed would create collection enforcement issues.

“There’s just so many that have never been taxed before,” Boudreaux said. “… How are we going to regulate that, and how is it going to be done?”

New doubts began to mount Wednesday during a hearing on Riser’s bill in the House Ways & Means Committee when several insurance industry executives testified to how the proposal would force property insurance premiums to increase. 

Rodney Braxton, a lobbyist for the Insurance Council of Louisiana trade association, told lawmakers rates would undoubtedly increase if labor on home repairs is taxed. 

The bill would exempt any property services and repairs as a result of an officially declared disaster and any services considered “capital improvements” that increase the value of a property. However, insurance executives told the committee those exemptions could actually create uncertainty in the underwriting market, ultimately resulting in higher costs for policyholders. 

If enacted, Riser’s bill is estimated to generate $1.9 billion in state revenue over the next five years, according to an analysis released Thursday evening by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office. Without that potential revenue available, lawmakers would likely have to consider increasing sales taxes on other items. 

The House did manage to pass related legislation that would set the actual sales tax rate to 4.4%, allowing 0.05% of a House Bill 10, sponsored by Rep. Mark Wright, R-Covington, cleared the chamber with a 71-23 vote — just one over the two-thirds needed for tax measures. 

Wright’s bill underwent several floor amendments that tacked on tax exemptions for diapers, church books and other special interests. The legislation heads next to the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs.

Henry said he would rather not adjust the flat tax bills, which set rates of 3% for personal income and 3.5% for businesses.

“There could be delaying implementation of this to see how much revenue comes in on the other bills …,” Henry said, specifically mentioning the digital services tax bill. “Maybe we don’t have to address it now. We could address it in the future.”

Any such discussions have been put on hold until lawmakers reconvene Monday.

Julie O’Donoghue contributed to this report.