State Rep. Bryant Hammett, D-Ferriday, authored three of the bills that will come up in the special session starting today, called by Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

In what Hammett called an &uot;ambitious agenda&uot; for Blanco, three tax-related issues are coming up in the special session &045;&045; making a temporary tax permanent and phasing out two business taxes.

A temporary tax that started in 1986 and reaps $160 million a year for the state will be up for renewal July 1 but if Blanco can help it, it will become permanent.

With the already estimated $500 million deficit the state is facing, Hammett said the governor does not want to have to add $160 million to that number. The plan is to make it permanent so it won’t have to be renewed.

The other two taxes total roughly $260 million a year for the state. &uot;The black eyes the business community said the state of Louisiana had,&uot; will be looked at to be phased out over eight years, Hammett said.

Relieving these taxes, Hammett said, could have a great effect on the business community of Louisiana as a whole as well as Concordia Parish.

&uot;I think it could be very positive for this area&uot; if all three bills are passed, Hammett said.

Relieving taxes on businesses could bring more business to Louisiana, which Hammett said is a difficult task.

The end result of lifting the two business taxes, he said, would be a better business environment in the state and with increased business activity, &uot;will more than offset that more than $260 million we won’t be getting in eight years.&uot;

One is the franchise tax, which reaps about $160 million a year for the state.

The tax is essentially a tax on debt, Hammett said.

So if a business borrows money to expand, Louisiana taxes that debt as if it is income.

The second tax is on manufacturing machinery and equipment. If a company buys MME for manufacturing purposes, that equipment carries a sales tax, Hammett said. This tax reaps about $100 million a year.

Cutting these taxes is something you &uot;can’t do overnight,&uot; Hammett said because then the budget would have to be cut, which means cutting services.