Leaders of Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith (NCLI) hosted a press conference urging Caddo Economic Development not to grant Inferno Manufacturing a tax exemption for work already completed. Citing research by Blackwell Associates Law Firm indicating that granting tax subsidies for work completed violates the state constitution, Interfaith leaders testified that citizens should not be asked to pay for Inferno's already purchased equipment.

Leaders furthermore noted that 89% of 2017 industrial tax exemptions cost Caddo Parish $3.9 Million and 4,151 jobs. Religious and community leaders called on the Caddo Economic Development Board to better invest its economic development dollars in human infrastructure (PreK-12 and long-term workforce development), as well as in systems for drainage, sewage, clean air and water.

In December, Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator became the first local official in state history to use the newly-granted local authority to reject an industrial tax exemption request, stating, "No way." The Sheriff's Department rejected the exemption as not worthy of receiving a public subsidy.

This month, three more local entities – Caddo Parish, the City of Shreveport, and the Caddo Parish School Board – will "vote on the multi-million dollar issue one application at a time."

Shreveport-Caddo Has New Power Over Tax Program Which Gave Away Over $680 Million, Shreveport Heliopolis

Advocacy Groups Seek Answers Regarding Costly ITEP Discrepancies from Two Local Companies, Shreveport Sun

Caddo Interfaith Coalition Expresses Concerns on Industrial Tax Exemption Programs, Red River Radio

Letter from Caddo Parish Sheriff Regarding Tax Exemptions for Inferno Manufacturing