[StBernard] EDITORIAL: EDITORIAL: Shreveport Times supports GM tax break in Governor's package

[Westley Annis]

EDITORIAL: Shreveport Times supports GM tax break in Governor's package

Periodically, the press office will publish editorials and columns that feature Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's work in various areas. 

Shreveport Times: GM tax break will pay dividends 
Article published May 4, 2007
View the article online <http://shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070504/OPINION03/705040319/1007/OPINION> 

If the state Legislature can OK $300 million to lure in a German steel mill to south Louisiana - and the governor is asking for $100 million more to match an Alabama bid - lawmakers shouldn't hesitate a moment to grant the local GM plant a $1.3 million tax break on new machinery.

That German steel mill remains in the "maybe" category, but General Motors is very much an established entity that wants to expand. Such a tax exemption addresses the argument that government, often ready to lavish incentives on industrial recruits, shouldn't neglect existing industries that are already providing jobs and economic energy to the state.

The auto maker is considering adding a new mid-size truck line. Granting GM a sales tax break on the machinery and equipment needed for that addition makes Shreveport an even more attractive expansion site.

Already the state has committed $1.2 million in the state's construction budget to provide a rail spur so that vehicles can go straight from the plant to a rail car. Figuring in local tax exemptions, the total tax incentive package is a substantial $14.3 million.

But consider that Shreveport's GM plant now employs 2,200 for an annual payroll of $192 million. And the plant also spins off a host of jobs and dollars to other vendors in the area. Local plant manager Dave Gibbons said GM is planning to spend $73 million of its $168 million nationwide investment in new equipment in Shreveport, where the local plant already cranks out trucks for GM and Isuzu as well as the popular Hummer H3.

Tax breaks should always be approached carefully, with local government measuring the cost of providing services against the return. But GM, with its employee pay and benefit packages approaching $100,000 per employee, is the type of industry that makes a huge impact in the local economy.

House Bill 633 by Rep. Taylor Townsend, D-Natchitoches, the measure that allows the sales tax exemption, flew out of both the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday and the full House. Lawmakers should continue to give it a swift ride on the legislative conveyor belt.

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