Elected officials and business owners in Jeff Davis Parish met Wednesday to discuss the potential impacts of eliminating the state’s inventory tax.

Police Jury President Steve Eastman said the goal of the meeting was to provide information and ensure that all stakeholders can make informed decisions. No decision was made at the meeting.

The police jury, school board and sheriff’s office have until July 1, 2026 to decide whether to keep or eliminate the tax, Eastman said.

State Rep. Troy Romero emphasized that all three entities must agree on the decision. If one entity disagrees, the tax will remain in place, he said.

Businesses in Louisiana currently pay an inventory tax, calculated at 15 percent of inventory value, on tangible business assets, including groceries, liquor, cars and farm equipment.

During the meeting, Parish Administrator Ben Boudreaux presented information on the potential financial impact of eliminating the tax. He noted that the state is expected to provide upfront funding of up to $15 million to offset the loss of revenue for the first three years.

Boudreaux said the parish has the potential to replace the lost revenue through sales tax and other sources within five years with a projected one percent growth in taxes. However, he stressed that the projections are based on assumptions, and the actual growth rate remains unknown.

Many attendees voiced support for the elimination of the tax, suggesting it could attract businesses and stimulate economic growth, particularly if neighboring parishes retain the tax.

“We think it is going to attract business and grow the parish and give us leverage, especially if our neighboring parishes like Calcasieu don’t give it up,” Boudreaux said. “It will take very little for us to overcome that loss.”

Police Jury Tim McKinight echoed the sentiment, viewing the tax cut as an investment in the parish’s future.

Romero said there are potential opportunities for economic growth within the parish and across the state due to the elimination of the inventory tax. He believes this could lead to the return of various industries, including those related to carbon, solar and other progressive technologies.

“This is the beginning of getting the state going back in the right direction, in my opinion,” Romero said. “We need to relax the taxes and get businesses back here and help them expand.”

Romero urged officials to consider the long-term economic health of the parish and the potential benefits if neighboring parishes retain the inventory tax.

“We have the potential in this parish to be something very special if Calcasieu keeps that inventory tax,’ Romero said. “We have to be able to think outside the box.”

Sunny Lyons, who owns five super markets across the state including Lyons Market in Jennings, said the inventory tax can be a challenge for small businesses owners.

“We get to the end of year and we are trying to bring our inventory down as low as we can, then it hurts my business on the retail side because I don’t have the products,” Lyons said.

For example, Lyons mentioned that his liquor sales peak between October and December due to the holiday season.

“So I’m trying to bring it in for the holidays to have it, but come Dec. 31 I’m hoping I can sell any extra I bring in cause I have to pay inventory taxes on it” Lyons said, noting that he has already paid sales taxes on those products.

Sheriff Kyle Miers expressed concerns about the potential impact on essential services, such as school resource officers, if the parish’s revenue is reduced.

“If they (school board) get cut a couple hundred thousand dollars the first thing they are going to remove is the SROs (school resource officers).” Miers said.

“The loss of money is going to have to come from somewhere and when they say they aren’t paying for SROs anymore, then that is going to fall on us. We are already losing money and now we are going to have to cover those salaries or we have to start getting rid of people.”

Currently the school board and sheriff’s office split the cost of providing SROs for the district’s schools.

Attendees agreed that a final decision required further analysis. A proposal to hire an independent financial analyst to assess the impact was suggested, with an estimated cost of $15,000-$25,000.