Monday, April 11, 2005

Around the Capitol (BR, that is)...

From TP - Survey says: Things are looking up in La.

Louisiana residents are growing a little more positive about the state's economic and political outlook, according to a newly released survey by the Public Policy Research Lab at Louisiana State University. Showing "a small but symbolically important increase," 52 percent of respondents said the state is headed in the right direction. About 35 percent said it is going in the wrong direction, and 14 percent said they did not know.

In last year's survey, 48 percent said the state was moving in the right direction. Men, white people, younger respondents and respondents with higher incomes and more education generally expressed greater optimism. The results are based on a telephone survey between Dec. 6 and Feb. 21 of 964 randomly selected Louisiana residents 18 years or older, with a margin of error of 3.2 percent to 4.6 percent, depending on the set of questions. It is the third in a series of annual surveys designed to establish benchmarks of public opinion and chart residents' assessments of state government. The survey covers questions on education, health care, taxes, economic development and corruption. For information on the survey, visit www.survey.lsu.edu or call (225) 578-7588.

One in three not pleased with tax plan

The LSU survey also found that few people believe they are paying less tax under the state's new tax structure, known as the Stelly plan. One of three respondents said they were paying more state taxes because of the Stelly plan. Four percent said they were paying less; 54 percent said they had not noticed much difference; and 10 percent said they didn't know. The tax plan eliminated the state tax on household groceries and utilities while raising state income taxes for many middle- and higher-income taxpayers, especially those who itemize deductions on their federal tax forms.

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