Dear Editor
I would like to clear up any confusion surrounding a very positive amendment for Louisiana’s working families. Amendment 3 seeks to return unconstitutional tax collections back to taxpayers.
Currently, if Louisianans want to appeal an unconstitutional tax, we must fight it out in court. Amendment 3 provides hard-working Louisianans with the added option of having their cases heard by the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA), our state’s tax court.
Amendment 3 provides a pro-taxpayer solution that needs to be included in our constitution. We need a permanent fix to this problem, which has been a great source of pain to many. The Lake Charles American Press recently stated, “…one big issue lies with taxpayers getting a refund if the state collects an unconstitutional tax. Amendment 3 would offer taxpayers that remedy, instead of the state retaining that money.”
If a tax is unconstitutional, then it is your money. You should have the choice to seek return of your money in the most cost effective and time efficient manner for you.
Every single case will still have the option of being brought to regular district courts. Amendment 3 simply adds to your choices, and it still allows appeal of BTA rulings to the appellate courts. It is refreshing to gain options in a state with so much red tape and hurdles for taxpayers to jump through.
Amendment 3 also ends the years of delay inherent in the current system. This is an important reform that was passed by the legislature in an overwhelming bipartisan majority, and it has the support of a wide swath of taxpayer defenders, including the Pelican Institute.
Amendment 3 is a big step toward righting the wrongs of the past and improving the lives of working families and job creators across Louisiana.
Daniel Erspamer,
CEO,
Pelican Institute for Public Policy