By Scott Rasmussen, includes “… On a percentage basis, the biggest increases were found in Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.”
The 2020 Financial State of the States report surveys the fiscal health of the 50 states prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.
How large could the shortfall in state government general revenues be, amidst the coronavirus and related crises?
Louisiana lawmakers will have around $843 million less to spend as they begin crafting the state’s operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The state Legislative Auditor identified $642 million in potential waste and inefficiency at state and local government entities during 2019, according to the agency’s annual report.
Shreveport, a town of less than 200,000 residents, is in debt to the tune of more than $1 billion, according to a report published by the State Legislative Auditor’s Office (LAO).
Sterlington Board of Aldermen unanimously voted Tuesday night to raise sewer rates. The new rates are expected to meet the system's base operating needs while paying for its financial obligations, including debt service requirements set by the Department of Environmental Quality.
Currently, about 12.8 million American children are living in poverty.
As of 2016, over 50% of Baton Rouge’s revenues were obligated to pay for pensions, but the city-parish only paid roughly half of what was due, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Supporters say the change would simplify Louisiana’s convoluted sales tax system and create a more business-friendly taxing environment.
The head of Louisiana’s most prominent business lobby said at least some Democratic and Republican lawmakers want to reimburse business owners taxed twice on out-of-state income.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards recently penned an op-ed, “Here's how Louisiana is making progress,” touting economic successes in the Pelican State. The column is causing ire among his critics.
Louisiana’s financial health is … not good. No secret there. Anyone paying anything resembling an iota of attention knows the state’s budget and how we annually get there is one $30 billion malady.
If Louisiana was suddenly forced to payoff all of its debts, it would cost every state taxpayer $15,500. Which is why the state got a “D” grade and ranks 36th out of 50 states in a recent analysis conducted by Truth in Accounting, an organization that provides annual assessments of state financial information.
What does the investment return for Fiscal Year 2018 mean as part of the big picture?
In recent years, Louisiana has bounced from one budget crisis to another, with a decade’s worth of short-term fixes barely keeping the lights on.
When the Louisiana Legislature left the State Capitol on June 25 with an agreement to continue nine-twentieths, or 0.45 percent, of an expiring 1-cent sales tax set to expire, lawmakers were relieved.
High and growing health-care costs are a problem for everyone — but especially so for state and local governments.
According to state Supreme Court rulings and an Attorney General’s opinion, local governments are not allowed to use property taxes for expenses not approved by voters.
Several studies and reports rank Louisiana as the worst state in the country for business, and the worst run government with a high disapproval rating among its citizens.