Press Release - Axe the Tax: New Report Reinforces the Case for Abolishing State Income Tax

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Jackson, MS): The Mississippi Center for Public Policy today released a policy paper reiterating the case for abolishing the state income tax.

"It's time to give Mississippi a boost and get our state growing," said Douglas Carswell, President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. “Abolishing the state income tax would give every Mississippi worker a pay raise. It would mean they had more money to spend on their priorities and families.”

“With Mississippi’s budget in a record $ 1 billion surplus, now is the time to do it” he went on to explain. “Let’s not wait for politicians to figure out new ways to spend that surplus. Let’s use it to allow workers to keep more of their own earnings.”

MCPP's "Axe the Tax” campaign is set to popularize the argument in favor of giving Mississippi a tax break through the abolishment of the state income tax. The report highlights many key points of the argument, including:

• It would give a major tax break for working families. The median household income in Mississippi is $45,081, and under the current structure, such a household would have to pay approximately $1,600 in state income taxes. The Governor’s executive budget recommendations suggests an individual with a taxable income of $40,000 would be $1,850 better off if income tax was eliminated.
• It would make Mississippi more economically competitive. Neither Florida, Tennessee, nor Texas have state income taxes, and all three have prospered. Mississippi, however, has done less well, decreasing in population and growing less rapidly. Repealing the income tax would assist people with higher and lower incomes in a personal tax break and encourage more private consumer spending.
• It would be great for local entrepreneurs. Mississippi has a long history of giving tax cuts to big corporations. An abolition of the income tax would be a break that helps ordinary businesses – not just those that are well connected in Jackson.

While it failed to pass in the 2021 legislative session, it is likely the issue of income tax abolition will be featured prominently in the 2022 session. MCPP hopes to see cooperation between state leaders ahead of this and offers these recommendations to see a successful process:

• Keep non-income tax rates the same and appropriate the State's $1 billion surplus revenue to reduce the income tax revenues
• Appropriate 50% of budget surpluses to reduce income tax revenues until it has been entirely eliminated
• Place cap on State's general fund budget increases that prohibit increases above 1.5% annually

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy believes repealing the Mississippi income tax would be both a moral and economic good, leading to higher incomes, competitiveness, and prosperity for all Mississippians.

You can read the FULL REPORT HERE.

For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].