Equal taxation for all

As we learn more and more about the financial confusion created by the last minute rush of the passage of bills to plug Louisiana’s budget gap, it becomes more and more clear why we have a budget problem.

Apparently our state lawmakers have contributed heavily to Mr. Tom Benson’s bank account.  Not only does he have a lucrative agreement requiring  the state  to lease office space at Benson Towers, adjacent to the Mercedes Benz Superdome,  at approximately 20% higher than the going rate, but he also had a pass on sales tax being collected at the Dome and Smoothie King Center.  I have always wondered why there was no sales tax collected at either arena.   However, the recent grab for monies to plug the budget deficit removes the veil of secrecy surrounding this entire situation.

Due to a legislative blunder by our esteemed representatives all of us are now enlightened to the fact that in the negotiated 2009 agreement with the Saints and Pelicans, a clause was included that if state sales tax were ever imposed at the Dome or Smoothie King Center on Saints’ or Pelicans’ sporting events, Benson would receive full reimbursement of those collected taxes from the state. 

Additionally, if such reimbursement to Benson did not occur, the 2009 agreement to keep both teams in New Orleans would be voided.

To help deal with the present budget gap the legislators passed a bill to impose sales tax on all events held at both arenas.  However, the reimbursement clause for Mr. Benson regarding the Saints and Pelicans games was omitted due to confusion among our legislators.  Consequently, the 2009 agreement is voided and the teams are now free to leave the city.   Our legislators have agreed to immediately address the problem and put a tax exemption back in just for Mr. Benson’s teams.

My question is, “Why fix it?”  Again why not treat everyone equally.  Why should non-sporting event attendees such as concert goers have to bail out the state’s fiscal mismanagement, while Saints and Pelicans games attendees don’t?

While Saints sports fans might applaud the sales tax exemption clause because ticket prices are already sky high, the real issue is the legislators’ continuing bias in implementing the new sales tax regulations.  Additionally, why the a sales tax reimburse clause was even included in the original 2009 Saints/ Pelicans deal  remains a mystery and shows the frivolity of the state representatives in spending the publics’ money.

Regrettably, the recent legislation doesn’t fix anything in terms of equality in taxation.   We still have some paying sales tax, and others not, which just further indicates the fallacies of using a sales tax to serve as a major funding source for a state budget.  It is obvious that the entities with the most financial control over our legislators are still getting a free ride.   I guess now we can add Mr. Benson to that list which already includes the LABI members, chemical, gas and petroleum industries.    Sadly this list seems to grow bigger daily along with the deficit.