“We have an opportunity to give some money back to the people, while we sit here awash in money,” said Smith, R-Bossier City.

Well, the money most likely shouldn’t have been taken from the people in the first place, but at least Louisiana law factory workers like Smith are looking in the right direction for money in the state’s surplus. In fact, there is serious talk about completely getting rid of the state income tax until 2017.

Theoretically, the idea would appeal to many voters: a gradual phase-out of income taxes until 2017, when they would disappear entirely. In an increasingly conservative Legislature, with many freshmen who ran on anti-tax platforms, voting “yes” has its merits.

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