Hazardous waste taxes in Louisiana and their effect on importation

ABSTRACT Louisiana is one of the largest generators of hazardous waste per capita in the US and the recipient of large volumes of hazardous waste generated by other states and countries. The hazardous waste tax for disposal in Louisiana was raised in 1988 and 1990. The 1990 tax proposal as originally introduced into the legislature had several features which were new to Louisiana: basing the tax on wet weight; including incineration as disposal instead of treatment; and, an additional levy for waste disposed out of parish (county). The tax which ultimately became law did away with many of these features and reduced projections to approximately $30 million. However, even this reduced amount has not materialized as the importation of hazardous waste proved sensitive to the amount of tax, and imported volumes have decreased substantially.