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Louisiana Economic Development officials told legislators on Wednesday that the fiscal returns on many of the state’s incentive programs are negative, The Center Square reports.
The feedback was part of an analysis LED gave on its major incentive programs for a legislative joint hearing.
While state economic development officials say the fiscal returns on many of these programs are negative, they note that there is a positive economic return on the investment by taxpayers.
The Quality Jobs program was highlighted during the hearing as a key component of the state’s economic development strategy. The program, designed to incentivize higher-paying jobs in various industries, offers payroll rebates ranging from 4% to 6%, depending on the wage level.
Officials touted the program for benefitting small businesses across the state.
“More than half of the companies using quality jobs employ 50 people or less,” says Ileana Ledet, LED’s chief economic competitiveness officer. “These are jobs that are really having an impact on the community, on households in these areas. But right now we’re looking at more than 100 companies who’ve cited quality jobs as a factor in their decision.”
