“Both chambers seem very interested in tax reform in a way that we can hopefully lessen the income tax burden on Mississippians,” White said.
White has made eliminating Mississippi's income tax and cutting the state's sales tax on groceries in half top priorities for the 2025 legislative session.
During the summit, supporters of income tax elimination often cited the $1 billion surplus the state has enjoyed in recent years, saying taxpayers should reap some of those rewards. Gov. Tate Reeves, who has supported income tax elimination for years, made an appearance at the summit and argued the policy change would make Mississippi more attractive to businesses.
Getting rid of our state income tax, in my opinion, is the next step in continuing to unleash our full economic potential," Reeves said. ... "If we want to compete with the best of the best, we need a tax code that is the best of the best."
Lawmakers more skeptical of income tax elimination, like Sen. Jeremy England, R-Ocean Springs, say a more gradual approach is needed. He fears cutting one-third of state government's revenue could leave it unable to provide core services, forcing lawmakers to reverse course and raise taxes.
“We don't want to end up in a situation where we've gone too far, and the way we do that is just by taking baby steps on this,” England said.
The lawmakers who have been examining the state’s tax structure are also looking for a new, recurring source of revenue for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
During a summit panel, Executive Director of MDOT Brad White and Central District Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons, D-Cleveland, said the 18-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax does not provide enough revenue to meet the agency’s needs.
“The cost of doing business has gone up, cost of materials, cost of labor, cost of equipment,” Simmons said. “The money doesn't go as far as it used to.”
White and Simmons said that to properly maintain over 33,000 miles of highway and around 500 bridges across the state, MDOT’s budget needs to increase by $480 million a year.
At the end of the summit, White revealed the results of polling conducted by Republican polling firm Cygnal. Of the 1,000 Mississippians who participated in the poll, 64% supported phasing out the income tax over a five year period.
