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Posted on 12/16/2005 4:09:44 PM PST by CajunConservative
(AP) — Congress passed nearly $8 billion in tax breaks for Gulf Coast businesses on Friday but denied federal help for casinos, liquor stores and golf courses.
Almost four months after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the coast, destroying businesses and jobs, lawmakers responded to President Bush's appeal for revitalizing the region with a special enterprise zone.
Both the House and Senate passed the bill by voice vote on Friday.
"It'll help to get our local government back on its feet, and it'll help to get our businesses incentivized to come back," said Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. "It'll make a huge contribution to restoring and rebuilding our city."
The tax breaks for business investment are aimed at luring companies into the region and keeping those that are already there. Companies can use a tax credit to defray salaries if they kept employees on the payroll even while shut down due to storm damage.
Numerous recreational businesses would be prohibited from using the special tax breaks. The list puts limitations on country clubs, casinos, hot tub facilities, liquor stores, massage parlors, golf courses, racetracks and tanning parlors.
A narrowly drawn exception, preventing taxpayer dollars from subsidizing gambling, means companies could consider their hotels and restaurants apart from attached casinos and take advantage of some of the tax breaks.
Sen. Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican who pushed for casinos to share in the tax breaks like any other legal business, said he grudgingly swallowed the exception.
"It's totally bad policy. It's totally ridiculous. It's totally hypocritical," he said. "But this is almost $8 billion. We had to get it done."
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., drove the effort to deny help to casinos, liquor stores and some other recreational businesses and eventually garnered support from more than 60 other conservative lawmakers in the House.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
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Hooray! My dad's drycleaning shop gets a tax break!
That's great! I hope that the SWLA area is included in the enterprise zone. I've been shopping today and the Texans are enjoying the tax free shopping.
It should. Rita did some damage over there.
I'm sure it is. This is a good opportunity for the state.
Who knows? Louisiana voters might decide that the whole low taxes thing is pretty cool. And with a good chunk of the tax-eaters in New Orleans cast to the four winds...
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