Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn addressed a variety of issues during an interview on The Gallo Show on SuperTalk Mississippi this morning.
Medical Marijuana:
Lawmakers are trying to come to some kind of an agreement on a medical marijuana plan. One of several points of contentious involves how the program would be taxed. “One of the flaws of 65 that a lot of people didn’t realize, because I’ve heard a lot of people say it, is let’s just have it and we’ll tax it and we’ll built roads and bridges and schools and fund teachers and all that. That’s not what 65 allowed,” Gunn explained. “65 limited how much could be taxed, and then what tax was implemented had to go back into the program.”
Governor Tate Reeves has expressed a willingness to call a special session, but lawmakers would like to come to a consensus on the issue before that happens.
State Revenues/Income Tax Phase-Out
State revenues are close to $1-billion over estimates. The House Speaker told us you have to remember that a lot of money was infused into the economy through the federal government. “I’ve been pointing to that to say this is a reason to do the income tax.” Gunn is referring to plans to phase out the income tax, as was debated in the last legislative session. “One of my arguments has been when you give people more money in their pocket they’re going to spend it. We’ve seen that be true over the last year.”
Gunn has been touring the state speaking to different groups to explain how the plan might benefit Mississippi and its residents.
