On the day of the deadline for floor action on revenue bills in the originating chamber, the Mississippi Senate has passed its version of a tax reform bill with a vote of 40-11.
SB 3164, authored by Senator Josh Harkins, would do the following:
- Reduce the grocery tax from 7% to 5%
- Eliminate the state’s fees on car tags going to the general fund
- Eliminate part of the income tax with the phasing out of the 4% bracket over four years
- Provide a rebate, no less than $100, to citizens with tax liability
“This is a conservative bill that’s simple to understand and it brings immediate relief to the Mississippi taxpayer,” Senator Chad McMahan said in an interview on The Gallo Show Wednesday morning.
All 11 nays in the Senate came from Democrats, one of which was Senator Hob Bryan.
“Just think about your folks back home,” Bryan said to his fellow legislators in the chamber. “Are they clamoring for a tax cut or are they clamoring for roads, water and sewer, and schools and broadband?”
The Senate’s move comes more than a month after the House of Representatives passed its own tax reformation plan, entitled the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022.
The House’s plan would:
- Reduce grocery tax from 7% to 5.5%
- Reduce the overall price of car tags by 50%
- Eliminate the state income tax
- Raise sales tax from 7% to 8.5%
The two chambers will have to come up with a single bill before March 28 if a tax reform plan is to be sent to the desk of Governor Tate Reeves.
