Would you invest in a company that will be bankrupt by the end of the month? What if the government forced you to invest in that company? (more…)

One of the most difficult concepts to grasp in tax policy is that taxes on businesses are not taxes on businesses. The reality is that taxes on businesses require higher prices for consumers, since the taxes become another cost of doing business, just like paying rent or insurance or employees. (more…)

There are now two commissions considering reforms to the state tax code. One was appointed by the governor, and the other was created by the House Ways & Means Committee. Whatever plans come out of either of these groups, they should be guided by some key principles. (more…)

The commission appointed by Governor Barbour to study the state tax code has begun meeting. The governor wants the commission to look at the total tax burden experienced by Mississippians, including federal and local taxes, to determine what changes need to be made in the state tax code so that the overall tax burden is not detrimental to job creation and growth. (more…)

A prominent Mississippi businessman is asking the taxpayers of Mississippi to give him 17 million dollars to help his company. He told a Senate committee that the reason he was asking for the money was because the legislature had provided millions of dollars to other companies, and since he had been in business 43 years and had never asked the legislature for anything, he wanted them to give him some money, too. (more…)

When Congress or the state legislature decides to take money from you through taxes, they are presuming that they know better how to spend that money than you do, or that what they want to spend your money on is more important than what you would spend it on. (more…)

There has been much talk lately in Washington and in Jackson about raising the minimum wage for hourly employees. It's one thing for governments to require a minimum wage for government employees. But it's quite another for governments to tell private businesses how much they can pay their own, private employees. (more…)

This fiscal year, the state of Mississippi will spend about 14.3 billion dollars. That's about $19,000 per family of four. The number you'll hear about most is $4 billion, but that's only what's known as the General Fund. There's another $4 billion that comes from gasoline taxes, fees, and other funds collected in the state. Then there's about $6 billion that will come from the federal government for state programs, not counting the billions spent on hurricane recovery and rebuilding. (more…)

Did you know that you are paying for the Spanish-American War? That's right, every month on your phone bill, you are paying a tax that was specifically created to pay for the war that began and ended in 1898. That year, Congress imposed a so-called "temporary" tax of one cent per telephone call to help pay for our expenses in the war. By 1990, that once cent per call had increased to three percent of your phone bill. (more…)