To The Louisiana State Legislature: Raise the Homestead Exemption!

UPDATE 8/20/09 – So what became of it all? Our thousands of signatures letters and phone calls fell on ears made deaf by arrogance. The power mad Rep. Hunter of Baton Rouge, chairman of the ways and means committee, sat on the bill and never allowed a vote that would have let this common sense initiative be debated on the House floor. One man’s abuse of power and allegiance to special interests over the democratic process trumped the voices of thousands of Louisiana Citizens. Mad? You should be. Remember their hubris come election time.

To:  The Louisiana State Legislature

We the people of the State of Louisiana, by placing our names as facsimile signatures on this electronic petition do hereby affirm the following:

The benefits of the homestead exemption and the need to increase it for inflation have never been more important. Homeowner taxes continue to increase as property values increase while the amount of the exemption remains fixed at 1982 property value levels. If adjusted for inflation alone the homestead exemption today would be over $160,000.

Low tax rates are good for all property owners and renters. Lower tax rates make Louisiana more attractive to new businesses and make it easier for existing businesses to remain open as well as provide jobs and services to their customers. Lower tax rates also make home ownership more affordable.

Thus affirming its common benefit to the people of Louisiana, we strongly encourage all serving Representatives and Senators of the Louisiana Legislature to urgently draft, support and pass legislation that will raise the state’s homestead exemption to one hundred seventy thousand dollars ($170,000) or an amount reflecting the actual rate of inflation at the time such legislation is made law, whichever is greater. This legislation should also require mandatory adjustment of the homestead exemption against inflation every four years.

The haste and initiative you show as elected representatives, individually and collectively in furtherance of this cause, will be to voters a measure of your success in office.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The To The Louisiana State Legislature: Raise the Homestead Exemption! Petition to The Louisiana State Legislature was created by and written by Joshua Kahler (taxpetition@yahoo.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.