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Last week I went to Washington, and had meetings at the White House, Congress (Senate & the House), as well as with various think tanks.
I gave a presentation about Mississippi income tax elimination to Americans for Tax Reform, too.
Mississippi is the 2nd fastest growing state in America, with the 5th fastest increase in personal income. We have just passed legislation to abolish the income tax, and have received record levels of inward investment.
That means there is tremendous interest in our state, and what our pro-growth policies have started to achieve.
It was an honor to talk about the Mississippi success story, with so many positive policy wins. I was really struck by the strong support for the Magnolia state and pro-growth policies.
Those I talked to in Washington are very aware of Mississippi’s successes. (Even more so now). I suspect this interest will only increase.
When I flew home from Washington, I felt so proud of our state.
Imagine what Mississippi could achieve if we used our conservative super majority to go even further with pro-growth policies?
Mississippi was the second fastest growing state in the last quarter of 2024, according to new data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Output per person in the Magnolia state increased faster than any state besides Arkansas.
One set of data might be a fluke, but then the previous quarterly data told a similar growth story. We are starting to see a trend as Mississippi takes off economically.
Mississippi’s been stuck at 50th out of 50 for so long, some struggle to believe we could be anywhere else. But here’s the kicker: our per capita GDP zipped past Britain’s in 2023 and is set to overtake Germany’s this year. If the explosive growth from late 2024 keeps up, we’ll leapfrog several U.S. states in the next decade. That “last place” label? It’s starting to peel off.
What’s behind this turnaround? Free market reforms—plain and simple. Mississippi was held back by high taxes, stifling regulations, and cartels—especially the one under the Capitol dome in Jackson—calling the shots.
A generation ago, Mississippi’s economic development strategy was to send long serving politicians to Washington DC to hustle for handouts. If federal subsidies made a state rich, ours would have been the wealthiest state in the Union.
But today, we’re growing because bold leaders—backed by your support—are pushing pro-growth policies:
- Tax Cuts: Since we started trimming the income tax to a flat 4% in 2022, the Mississippi Development Agency estimates there’s been a whopping $19 billion inward investment. Businesses are flocking here, confident that their payroll taxes will tumble.
- Flexible Labor Market: Already an “at-will” employment state, Mississippi passed a little noticed law in 2021 to ease occupational licensing. Local boards are increasingly under pressure to reduce onerous red tape.
- Business-Friendly Planning: While other states drown companies in approval processes, Mississippi rolls out the welcome mat.
- Cheap Energy: Two new data centers are coming, and they’ll need oodles of electricity. Good thing Mississippi’s natural gas and nuclear keep our electricity cheap—around 13.43 cents per kWh versus California’s wallet-busting 34.26 cents. Affordable energy is turbocharging our growth.
Mississippi has only adopted pro-growth policies because a handful of bold conservative leaders have been prepared to fight for them. Just three weeks ago, our Senate’s current leadership was maneuvering against income tax elimination.
Imagine what we could achieve if the Senate was on board with free market reform? We’re surrounded by states with school choice, but our Senate blocked even a modest public-to-public option. Healthcare’s tangled in “certificate of need” nonsense, and Senate leaders killed that fix too.
Mississippi is on the rise, but we need to double down on pro-growth reforms, especially school choice. Thank you for standing with us—together, we’re making Mississippi boom!
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What a win! This week, Mississippi made history as the first state in the U.S.—aside from oil-rich Alaska—to pass legislation eliminating the income tax. While nine other states have never had an income tax, Mississippi is blazing a trail by actively dismantling it.
“So what?”, you might say. “Why does this matter if full elimination is still a decade away?” The answer is simple: it’s already transforming our state for the better. Eliminating the income tax makes Mississippi a magnet for growth. Look at Texas, Florida, and Tennessee—three southern states without income taxes that are booming. Even Arkansas recently lowered its rate to stay competitive with us!
Since we began reducing our rate to a flat 4% in 2022, the Mississippi Development Agency reports an extraordinary $25 billion in inward investment. Businesses are flocking here, confident that the payroll tax burden is fading away. This victory isn’t just about economics—it’s a triumph for conservative reform.
Around the Governor’s desk on Thursday evening, we saw bold leadership from Speaker Jason White, Rep. Trey Lamar, and a few dedicated others who fought for this change. We should not forget the role of former Speaker, Philip Gunn, either. Mississippi is, as you know, full of southern charm. One consequence of this is that each time a significant reform passes in the state legislature, there is a tendency to pretend that the change came about because of some kind of kumbaya consensus.
This win came from grit, not just goodwill. Days ago, some were still resisting real elimination. Minds moved because of determined advocacy. This success proves that the roadblocks to reform can be overcome with bold, principled leadership.
There might be a consensus about income tax elimination now, but it is a new consensus, won by bold conservative leaders fighting for it. We salute those that put principle on the line and fought for change!
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Mississippi has made history as the first state in the U.S.—aside from oil-rich Alaska—to pass legislation aimed at phasing out its income tax.
This monumental achievement, spearheaded by Governor Tate Reeves and House Speaker Jason White, marks a significant victory for the state. The newly passed bill outlines a plan to eliminate the income tax over the next decade, starting with incremental cuts and followed by a series of budget-driven "triggers."
Beginning next year, Mississippi’s income tax rate will drop in 0.25 percent increments, sliding from 4 percent to 3 percent by 2030. After that, further reductions will hinge on the state’s budget surplus. Given Mississippi’s recent track record of substantial surpluses, the income tax could vanish entirely by the mid-2030s.
So, how did Mississippi become such a trailblazer? It very nearly did not happen.
The push to eliminate the income tax has been a cornerstone of Governor Reeves’ agenda, with serious legislative efforts kicking off in 2022 under then-House Speaker Philip Gunn.
Gunn’s genius was to simplifying the state’s variable tax rates into a flat 4 percent on income above $10,000. While this didn’t eliminate the tax outright, it leveled the playing field for Mississippi households, setting the stage for broader support of full elimination.
Fast forward to this year, when Speaker Jason White and Representative Trey Lamar introduced a plan to phase out the income tax by 2037. Their initial proposal included a partial tax swap, offset by modest increases in gas and sales taxes.
What happened next was both fascinating – and, if you support income tax elimination, rather fortuitous.
The Mississippi Senate has been a constant drag on conservative reform. They have either opposed, or come to grudgingly accept, almost every conservative policy proposal over the past few years, from school choice to red tape reduction. So, too, with income tax elimination.
The Senate, reluctant to fully embrace income tax elimination, opted for a cautious approach. They amended the bill with a "trigger" mechanism, tying future tax cuts to significant revenue growth outpacing spending increases. Some in the Senate perhaps saw this as a clever stall tactic—until a fortunate blunder turned the tables.
The Senate miscalculated the formula, placing a decimal point in the wrong place. Math matters. Something the Senate design as a brake on tax cuts turned out to be an accelerator.
Unless the state government runs a deficit, future surpluses will likely drive steady cuts, and Mississippi – despite the Senate leaderships best efforts – will be as competitive in tax terms as Tennessee and Texas.
Set aside the soap opera, this is great news for our state. Already there is evidence that in 2024, by some measures, Mississippi performed well economically, and may have been one of the fastest growing states in America that year. This tax reform will only add to this Mississippi momentum.
Perhaps what the Senators math missteps shows is that Mississippi now needs to turn its attention to education reforms? If the Senators stopped blocking school choice the way they tried to block income tax elimination, maybe math standards might be better both inside and outside the legislature.