Louisiana
Louisiana senators want more details on Landry tax plan before proposed special session
Louisiana Revneue Secretary Richard Nelson wants to lower income tax rates for many Louisiana households, but expand the sales tax rate. (Photo by Henrietta Wildsmith)
Louisiana legislators, particularly those in the Senate, want more information about Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to overhaul the state’s tax system before they commit to a special legislative session in November to pass new tax laws.
Landry’s Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson has pitched a session focused on tax changes to be held between the Nov. 5 presidential election and Thanksgiving on Nov. 28.
“We would like to see a special session between now and the end of the year,” Nelson said during a presentation to lawmakers last week.
The Landry tax overhaul proposal revolves around a central concept of eliminating existing tax exemptions and expanding the state sales tax to new services in exchange for lowering the personal income tax rate for moderate-income and wealthy households.
But Nelson hasn’t provided details about which tax exemptions he wants to scrap or what new services would be subject to sales taxes under his proposal. He’s also been vague about what personal income tax rate he wants legislators to set.
Nelson told lawmakers during a budget hearing last week he would like to see a personal income tax rate in Louisiana in the low 3% range. “It’s going to be dependent on the other measures that we have to make up revenue,” he said.
“Taxes on services. Taxes on digital goods. Depending on how expansive those are, how many exemptions we are able to take out of the sales tax budget, those are the things that will drive how low we can get the [personal income tax] rate,” Nelson added.
It’s unclear if Nelson’s tax proposal would happen on top of or instead of an across-the-board 0.45% state sales tax rate cut scheduled to take place July 1, 2025. He didn’t address the issue during last week’s presentation.
Senators interviewed Monday said they want those details of the tax package well ahead of having to take any votes on the plan.
“I highly support making the change we need to make to make us competitive with our surrounding states,” Sen. Robert Allain, R-Franklin, said, but “we need time to deliberate.”
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Some senators are still skeptical that a tax package can be approved within the next two months when the specifics of the proposal haven’t been nailed down yet. They believe it would be better handled during the regular lawmaking session scheduled to start in April.
“No matter when we address tax policy, it’s going to be helpful for members to have as much information as possible,” Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said.
The head of the Senate’s tax committee, Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, told Nelson at the hearing last week that legislators will need more information in order for a November special session to be successful.
“Are you going to come back with some specific things you would like to recommend to the governor to be in [special tax session] the call?” Foil asked Nelson.
Nelson responded that he would finalize his proposal by the end of next week after talking more with the governor and legislators.
“The governor is very adamant that he wants to do something big. He wants to make big changes,” Nelson said.
If Louisiana’s personal income tax rate was in the low 3% range for all households, as Nelson wishes, it would create an income tax break for all but the lowest-income people. Currently, households pay a 4.25% tax rate on income $50,000 and above, 3.5% on income between $12,500 and $50,000, and 1.85% rate on income $12,500 and below.
Nelson has proposed offsetting the tax increase on Louisiana’s lowest-income households by significantly increasing the standard deduction they would be able to claim on their state tax forms.
The revenue secretary said he also wants to lower the corporate income tax rate, revise the business inventory tax and eliminate the corporate franchise tax.
Louisiana would not see a massive drop off in revenue by lowering these tax rates, Nelson said, as long as the state eliminates some existing tax exemptions and assesses its sales tax in new areas to make for the lost revenue.
In the past, he has suggested taxing Netflix and other digital streaming services as well as luxury services such as car detailing. Nelson has not said how much money such an expanded tax base could produce.
Eliminating tax exemptions, especially those that benefit corporate interests, has proven difficult in the past. The Legislature failed to approve widespread changes to its business tax breaks in 2016 and 2018.
“I think you have a lot of special interests out there that want to protect their pocketbooks,” said Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, who said he would back a November special session on taxes.
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The Landry administration is also proposing combining two state savings accounts, which would reduce the amount of state funding that flows into reserve funds. It would free up more money for day-to-day government functions without raising taxes.
The merging of the state’s savings accounts would require voters to approve a constitutional amendment, which Nelson would like to put on the ballot during a special statewide election in March.
If the Legislature chose to do nothing, state residents would still see a tax cut next year as well as a state budget deficit of $587 million that would like result in cuts to health care, higher education and K-12 school services.
The financial shortfall would largely be driven by that scheduled 0.45% cut to the state sales rate, which would cost $455 million, and the elimination of a 2% sales tax on business utilities, which would cost $211 million.
The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
3-9-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
4-1-1-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
0-5-2-9-5
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.
By mail, follow these instructions:
- Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
- Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
- Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
- Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.
Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:
Louisiana Lottery Headquarters
555 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:
555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.
When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
- Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana National Guard announced Monday that 120 troops will remain deployed in New Orleans through August.
The six-month extension comes after 350 Guard members deployed to New Orleans in late December, in the run-up to New Year’s and other high-profile events like the Sugar Bowl. The troops, which had mainly clustered in the city’s historic French Quarter, had been scheduled to depart in the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is one of several Democrat-run cities, such as Washington and Memphis, Tennessee, where the federal government deployed armed troops under the administration of President Donald Trump. Hundreds of federal agents also converged on Louisiana in December as part of a separate immigration crackdown in and around New Orleans.
During his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted the deployment in New Orleans as a “big success.” In January, Trump credited the troops with reducing the city’s violent crime within a week of their deployment. City police data shows violent crime rates have significantly declined over the past three years in parallel with national trends.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, the remaining guard members will serve as a “visible presence to deter criminal activity in New Orleans.”
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who initially opposed the deployment, said that the troops would benefit the city in the coming weeks. She pointed out that National Guard troops had assisted the city during last year’s Mardi Gras in the aftermath of a vehicle-ramming attack in the French Quarter that killed 14 people on New Year’s Day.
“I continue to support the partnership with the LA National Guard to assist in our major events and there are several coming up in the next few weeks,” Moreno said in a statement.
While Moreno did not address which events she referred to, visitors flock to New Orleans in the spring for events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, citing rising violent crime rates in New Orleans despite the data showing crime was down.
“This continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on the social platform X on Monday, noting Louisiana had also sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last year.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, said the federal government would cover the cost of the extended deployment. She did not respond to a question about whether Guard members would be deployed outside New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in a statement the troops had already worked closely with other city, state and federal agencies to improve public safety during a stretch of high-profile events in the city, including the flood of visitors over Mardi Gras and the city’s carnival season.
“We remain committed to those partnerships as we continue supporting efforts to keep the City of New Orleans safe for residents and visitors,” Friloux said.
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.
Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.
63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.
Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.
“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”
Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.
“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.
Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.
Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.
“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.
The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.
The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.
Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.
“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.
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