Tax-cut proponents counter that their states have been held back by slow economic growth on the national level, and that keeping taxes low is the best way to add jobs and revive the economy in the long run.

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin made the case for tax cuts during a speech in Michigan last month. “We can charge you higher rates, and a few of you might be able to afford to pay it,” he said. “Or we can lower the rates, broaden the base. More people are part of the economy, we see revenues go up even while rates go down, and the economy gets better for everyone.”

Louisiana’s fiscal troubles can be traced to the economic boom that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when rebuilding efforts, insurance payouts and federal money pushed cash into the state budget. Many lawmakers expected the heady times and increased revenue to last, and they made the bold decision to cut income taxes by roughly $700 million annually for the highest brackets — a decision some are now second-guessing.

“We chose to give away more tax credits, incentives and rebates over the past seven years than there were revenues coming in to sustain state government,” said Representative Jim Fannin, a Republican and the chairman of the Legislature’s budget-drafting Appropriations Committee.

But while Republicans in the Legislature are prepared to raise some taxes, Mr. Jindal has insisted that there be no net increase in taxes and has threatened to veto any spending plan that includes one. After juggling proposals ranging from increasing cigarette taxes to reducing tax incentives for solar power, lawmakers have yet to devise a plan that meets the governor’s demands.

Shannon Bates Dirmann, Mr. Jindal’s spokeswoman, said his veto threat was real. “He wants families to keep more of their hard-earned money rather than sending it to state government coffers, because it helps cultivate a strong economy,” she said.