Letter: Reconsider well-drilling tax break
Thank you for your Dec. 26 editorial, in which you pointed out the state is losing hundreds of millions of dollars because of the unnecessary tax break provided for horizontal drilling. As The Advocate has reported on a number of occasions, that is just one of more than 430 tax loopholes that cost Louisiana taxpayers more than $7 billion annually.
Your editorial is especially pertinent in light of recent reports that LSU and other state universities are forced to cut even more deeply because the state is not providing adequate resources for them to accomplish their mission.
While education, health care, the transportation infrastructure and other vital public services starve, vast fortunes are being made by the energy corporations.
Nearly two years ago, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the Louisiana Budget Project were partners in creating the Better Choices for a Better Louisiana coalition. The coalition’s main goal was a balanced approach to our budget crisis and to ensure that Louisiana had the resources required to provide the services our people need and deserve.
Early on, Better Choices was critical of the state tax loophole granted for horizontal drilling. As new discoveries in the Tuscaloosa Trend come into play, Louisiana stands to lose even more millions.
The Advocate is correct to question economic policies that sacrifice our universities and our children’s future to tax breaks for exceptionally profitable interests.
We urge Gov. Bobby Jindal and our newly elected Legislature to examine and reconsider the tax breaks for horizontal drilling and each of the more than 400 tax breaks on the books.
Steve Monaghan, president
Louisiana Federation of Teachers
Baton Rouge