BATON ROUGE, La. (KPLC) – Under Governor Landry’s tax reform plan, state sales taxes would be added to many services to offset the decline in income taxes.

“This is the most ambitious across-the-board tax reform proposal I have seen in recent history,” says tax attorney Stone Pigman.

In 2018, the Louisiana legislature approved a temporary 0.45 percent sales tax, but that tax is scheduled to expire in June of next year and some say it could lead to a budget shortfall.

“So if nothing else happens, something has to give,” Pigman said.

Gov. Jeff Landry called a special session last week to say he wants to “modernize” Louisiana’s tax code by lowering income taxes not just for individuals but also for corporations.

“The highest individual income tax rate is 4.25 percent,” he said. “This will be replaced by a single flat income tax rate of 3 percent for all individuals.”

To compensate, lawmakers are considering expanding the sales tax to cover about 50 or more services that the state considers “luxury necessities.”

“This would expand sales tax to a number of services that are not currently subject to sales tax, and those are things like pet grooming or personal fitness services,” he said.

Other parts of the tax reform plan would triple the standard deduction for state income tax purposes and get rid of exemptions and contributions currently included in the state’s sales tax law.

Supporters of Landry’s tax reform plan say it would spread the tax burden evenly across more people. But many opponents of the plan express concerns about potential cost increases for residents.

A decision will need to be made before the session ends on November 25.

The tax reform package requires support from more than two-thirds of parliament to become law, and voters must approve the issue in the next election.

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