Current:Home > FinanceMississippi House panel starts study that could lead to tax cuts-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Mississippi House panel starts study that could lead to tax cuts
View Date:2024-12-23 19:56:02
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi lawmakers could consider a comprehensive proposal next year to make the state’s tax system fairer and more efficient, a state House leader said Wednesday.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Trey Lamar said he joins other top Republicans, including House Speaker Jason White and Gov. Tate Reeves, in continuing to advocate for eventually erasing the state’s income tax.
Mississippi is reducing its personal income tax under a law Reeves signed in 2022. Efforts to completely phase out the tax fell short in 2023 and never gained traction during this year’s legislative session.
“I’ve been on the record more times than I can count over the last five or six years,” Lamar said Wednesday at the Capitol. “Eliminating the tax on work in the state of Mississippi is our goal — and how we can do that responsibly and in as quick a time as we can.”
Lamar and Republican Rep. Scott Bounds are leading a bipartisan group of House members that White appointed to examine Mississippi taxes.
Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has appointed a bipartisan Senate committee to study taxes and other financial issues.
During a meeting of the House committee on Wednesday, members heard from the mayors of Ocean Springs, population 19,500; Macon, population 2,600; and Louisville, population 6,500. All said their biggest budget challenge is paying for infrastructure such as roads and sewer lines. The mayor of Flora, population 1,647, said the priority is paying for police and fire protection.
All four mayors said their cities depend on revenue from the sales tax, which is 7% for most items, and the use tax, which is 7% for most items shipped in from out of state. Cities receive a portion of the money collected from each of those taxes.
Revenue from the use tax is directed to infrastructure projects, and counties also receive a portion of it.
Macon Mayor Buz McGuire said his city needs more flexibility to be able to pay for crumbling sidewalks that are decades old.
“They’re just in pretty rough shape,” McGuire said.
Lamar told reporters after the meeting that lawmakers could consider allowing more flexibility for how cities and counties can spend revenue from the use tax.
“If a city attorney somewhere is being extra cautious and saying that the city can’t pave the courthouse parking lot, then we’re certainly open to looking at that,” Lamar said. “But it needs to stay at public infrastructure.”
Ocean Springs Mayor Kenny Holloway said that while his city has a strong local tax base, it has significant expenses to maintain older sewer pipes, sidewalks and roads.
veryGood! (3962)
Related
- Minnesota county to pay $3.4M to end lawsuit over detainee’s death
- Barbie's Simu Liu Reveals What the Kens Did While the Barbies Had Their Epic Sleepover
- This is Canada's worst fire season in modern history — but it's not new
- Vibrating haptic suits give deaf people a new way to feel live music
- Burt Bacharach, composer of classic songs, will have papers donated to Library of Congress
- China imposes export controls on 2 metals used in semiconductors and solar panels
- Is Threads really a 'Twitter killer'? Here's what we know so far
- How Decades of Hard-Earned Protections and Restoration Reversed the Collapse of California’s Treasured Mono Lake
- Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
- Get a TikTok-Famous Electric Peeler With 11,400+ 5-Star Reviews for Just $20 on Amazon Prime Day 2023
Ranking
- What to know about Mississippi Valley State football player Ryan Quinney, who died Friday
- 'Oppenheimer' looks at the building of the bomb, and the lingering fallout
- Netflix's pop-up eatery serves up an alternate reality as Hollywood grinds to a halt
- The best games of 2023 so far, picked by the NPR staff
- Jerry Jones lashes out at question about sun's glare at AT&T Stadium after Cowboys' loss
- Q&A: Robert Bullard Led a ‘Huge’ Delegation from Texas to COP27 Climate Talks in Egypt
- Inside Clean Energy: ‘Solar Coaster’ Survivors Rejoice at Senate Bill
- Our fireworks show
Recommendation
-
Wisconsin authorities believe kayaker staged his disappearance and fled to Europe
-
Why inflation is losing its punch — and why things could get even better
-
Court pauses order limiting Biden administration contact with social media companies
-
What to know about the drug price fight in those TV ads
-
Alexandra Daddario shares first postpartum photo of baby: 'Women's bodies are amazing'
-
The secret to Barbie's enduring appeal? She can fend for herself
-
Summer School 1: Planet Money goes to business school
-
China imposes export controls on 2 metals used in semiconductors and solar panels