Speaker of Mississippi House holds summit to push for eliminating state income tax

State House Speaker Jason White billed his Sept. 24, 2024, Policy Summit/Tax Reform as a way to explore proposed changes to Mississippi’s tax structure and to gain feedback from voters. Overall, the emphasis was on the former rather than the latter.

Brief question-and-answer periods that followed speakers’ comments tended to prompt further, lengthy speeches by officials in support of eliminating the state’s income tax, a White legislative priority that has been adopted or is being pushed in other states with Republican legislative supermajorities.

Among the speakers whom White (R-West) introduced was Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, who eschewed White’s ground rule to “refrain from political comments” by referencing opponents as “unpleasant people who voted against us,” calling high-tax Chicago corrupt and labeling the Democrat-controlled Illinois Legislature “Bolsheviks.” He said eight states will have no income tax by January 2025 and that many others are considering eliminating theirs.

During the follow-up Q&A, state Rep. Chris Bell (D-Jackson), who is originally from Chicago, objected to Norquist’s characterization of the city and said corruption crosses political and geographic lines. He then noted Mississippi’s high poverty and infant mortality rates and asked how the state would provide a social safety net if the income tax is eliminated. “Where are we going to get the money?” Bell asked.

White responded that the state has a substantial budget surplus, though much of that is the result of billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 funds that will not be sustained.

Norquist answered Bell’s question with a long diatribe that included ridiculing federal subsidies of mass transit in Washington, D.C. and other cities, arguing that people in states like Mississippi were more interested in funding highways, roads and bridges.

Highway infrastructure was another component of the tax summit, yet its funding in Mississippi is substantially the result of federal dollars. The state receives far more in federal funds than it pays in taxes and is consistently listed among states most dependent on federal payments.

Other speakers on the agenda at the tax summit were:

• Tim Jones, former speaker of the Missouri House, who successfully pushed to cut that state’s income tax rate

• Members of the Mississippi Legislature’s Tax Reform Select Committee Scott Bounds (R-Philadelphia), Trey Lamar (R-Senatobia), Jeremy England (R-Vancleave) and Josh Harkins (R-Flowood)

• Mississippi Department of Transportation Director Brad White

• Mississippi Transportation Commission Chair Willie Simmons

• Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves

• Officials with the Mississippi Municipal League, the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, the Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC), and the Arkansas Legislature

The polling firm Cygnal also highlighted results of polls about tax reform, which White said will be posted on his website, JasonWhiteMS.com. According to the firm, 64 percent of state residents support phasing out the income tax over five years.

White said legislation to reduce the state’s grocery tax and eliminate its personal income tax over time will be considered during the 2025 session. He said the goal is to cut in half the 7 percent grocery tax, which is the highest in the nation, and completely eliminate the income tax, which provides just under one-third of the state’s general fund revenue. Under current law, the state will levy a 4 percent flat tax on personal income starting in 2025.

Though White described the proposals in detail, he told the approximately 500 registrants at the summit that, for now, “There is no preconceived notion or direction or bill.”

Opponents of eliminating state income taxes frequently point to Kansas, which dramatically cut such taxes in 2012 and 2013, then had to substantially repeal the cuts due to equally dramatic fiscal shortfalls. Norquist dismissed that concern, saying the problem in Kansas was that eliminating the tax did not correspond with cuts in spending – a claim that has been frequently debunked.

The tax reform summit was primarily a showcase for proponents of cutting taxes and did not include extensive commentary from opponents or the general public. Though White referenced polling on the issue, he did not suggest putting the issue before voters through a reinstated ballot initiative – another item that is reportedly on his legislative agenda.

Most of the speakers were strident in their support for the proposed cuts, but state Sen. Jeremy England (R-Ocean Springs), a member of the select committee, was more circumspect, saying “baby steps” might be necessary to ensure the availability of funds for state services, which could include cutting taxes based on triggers linked to specific fiscal conditions.

State Sen. Josh Harkins, another committee member, suggested the legislature should proceed cautiously because its surplus was essentially an artificial construct based on $33 billion in federal COVID-19 funds. He said eliminating the income tax would reduce state coffers by $2.2 billion.

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Image: House Speaker Jason White opens the 2024 tax summit (photo credit: Alan Huffman)