Louisiana residents pay the highest average sales tax rate in the United States at nearly 10%, according to the latest Tax Foundation rankings released this week.
That costs taxpayers an extra $10 for every $100 spent on retail items.
The 2024 rankings list Louisiana No. 1 in the combined average local and state sales tax rate at 9.56, five times higher than the lowest rate of 1.82% in Alaska.
A temporary .45-cent Louisiana state sales tax is set to expire in 2025, but it’s unclear whether lawmakers and new Republican Gov. Jeff Landry will allow it to roll off or seek to extend it.
Allowing it to expire as scheduled would put a $460 million hole in the state budget.
When asked during last year’s governor’s campaign whether he would let the temporary tax expire or seek to extend it, Landry didn’t provide a direct yes or no answer.
“We need to take a look at the larger tax system and see what is working and what is not working in Louisiana’s system,” he said then. “The focus needs to be on ensuring taxpayers are getting the services and product that they deserve.
“We need to understand and fix the policies that are hurting our people and create a tax structure that boosts our economic progress. Our goal should be to have the lowest tax burden possible on senior citizens, families and job creators while maintaining strong services.”
Louisiana’s combined rate of 9.56% is just a tick above Tennessee’s combined 9.55% rate, but Tennessee doesn’t collect a state income tax, while Louisiana does.
Louisiana’s state sales tax rate is 4.45%, which ranks near the lowest of state rankings at 37th, but the combined rate shoots up to nearly 10% after adding in the average local sales tax rate.
The state’s 5.11% local sales tax rate is second highest in the country behind only Alabama at 5.25%.
