Zap the State Tax

It's time to give Mississippi a boost and get our state growing. Abolishing the state income tax would do that, giving every Mississippi worker a pay raise and ensuring they have more money to spend on their priorities and families.

Right now, Mississippi’s budget has a stonking surplus of almost $1 billion – We can afford to Axe the Tax! Rather than wait for politicians to figure out ways of spending the surplus, let’s give taxpayers something back by allowing workers to keep more of what they earn.

Ronald Reagan once said, “Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government always finds a need for the money it gets.” If we don’t abolish the state income tax, state officials will soon find a need to spend that surplus.

As Mississippi’s leading free market advocacy organization, we have launched the Axe the Tax campaign to make the case for change. We are highlighting to hundreds of thousands of Mississippians the argument in favor of abolishing the income tax:

• Tax break for working families. 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.
• Make Mississippi more competitive. Neither Florida, Tennessee, nor Texas have state income taxes, and all three have prospered.
• Good for 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.
• It’s fair! Abolishing the income tax means a tax break for every worker.
• It is essential that tax abolition is done sensibly by balancing the books. Tax cuts can’t be paid for out of thin air.

We believe that there is common ground for an agreement to abolish the state income tax, using a combination of the budget surplus, and future growth in tax revenues to scrap the tax. And we will be popularizing the case for change in 2022!