Say NO to taxation without representation!

Why should home owners and small businesses shoulder the burden?

Tell the School Board to adopt sound standards for granting industrial tax exemptions on October 17!

Since 1998, Ascension Parish has lost over $1.3 billion in revenues for schools, fire protection, police and drainage.

Without the knowledge or approval of our elected officials, the State Board of Industry and Commerce granted industrial exemptions from local property taxes. Taxes that were approved by voters were forgiven by a state board that is not accountable to us in any way.

Homeowners and small businesses can’t get those tax breaks, and shoulder the burden of educating our children, protecting our citizens, and providing necessary services.

We don’t even know if those big business loopholes helped our economy. The board that oversees the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) never:

• Conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the program
• Calculated the revenue loss to local services because of the exemptions
• Evaluated the ITEP's record of attracting new business, business expansion or job creation
• Assessed whether corporations would have made investments without the subsidies

Now, thanks to an executive order signed by Governor John Bel Edwards, this "taxation without representation" is at an end.

Local elected officials now have authority over exemptions. They can decide which ones are approved, depending on how they will affect school districts, parish governments, sheriffs, and municipal governments.

Each local governing body has to agree to grant the exemption.

On October 17, the Ascension Parish School Board will vote on a resolution to establish sound standards and criteria for granting industrial exemptions.

This resolution will give taxpayers a clear understanding of whether or not the companies who receive ITEP exemptions fulfill the promises made to the citizens of Ascension Parish. It is important for the citizens who voted for the taxes and pay the taxes, and their elected representatives, to have a voice.

Please send this message to the Ascension Parish School Board. Tell members that you are not against creating new jobs, but are for putting responsible policies into place. Funding for our schools is vital to the children of Ascension Parish and the economic well-being of our community.