Mississippi Today

Speaker Jason White names members of committee to explore state tax cuts

Published

4 weeks ago

June 3, 2024

mississippitoday.org – Taylor Vance – 2024-06-03 14:06:53

House Speaker Jason White on Friday announced that 18 House members will explore ways to reduce the state's grocery and personal income taxes ahead of the 2025 legislative session, making tax policy a top priority.

White, a Republican from West, said in a statement that he feels confident the appointees will thoroughly study current state laws and tax structures to make informed recommendations for next year's session.

“The House will continue its pursuit of bold initiatives and policies to improve our great state, focusing on the betterment of Mississippi and all of her citizens,” White said.

The select tax committee will have two primary leaders: House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia, and House Appropriations B Chairman Scott Bounds, a Republican from Philadelphia.

The committee is expected to hold hearings sometime in the fall or summer, but it's unclear when exactly the group will meet to hear testimony from advocates and policy experts.

White previously told reporters he would like to see the state's 7% grocery tax, the highest statewide tax of its kind in the nation, be cut at least in half as soon as possible. He also said his goal would be to completely eliminate the personal income tax, which provides just under one-third of the state's general fund revenue. But he said that would be done over time.

The speaker also wants to provide the state Department of Transportation with a new revenue stream to fund infrastructure. Infrastructure maintenance is currently funded through an 18.4-cents-per-gallon fuel tax. But MDOT officials have argued for years that they need more money for new road and bridge projects and maintenance.

The speaker also wants to continue fully funding public K-12 education under the new school funding formula he championed earlier this year. But White told reporters last month that he believes the state still has the capacity to implement more tax cuts.

“As we look at tax cuts, that's not about cutting education systems or public safety or MDOT or anything else,” White said then. “It's about living within our means and figuring out what taxpayers expect from government.”

The speaker appointed 12 Republicans, five Democrats and one independent to sit on the select tax committee. To successfully get a tax cut measure through the Capitol would require approval from three-fifths of lawmakers in both chambers.

If White, who holds enormous power in the 122-member House, shows that a tax cut measure is one of his top priorities for the 2025 session, it's almost certain he can get his fellow Republicans, who make up a supermajority in the chamber, to fall in line on the issue.

But the larger question is whether he and House leadership can convince the Republican-majority Senate, led by Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, to agree to a tax cut plan along with Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has continued to advocate for eliminating the income tax.

When former House Speaker Philip Gunn pushed a proposal through the Capitol in 2022 that abolished the income tax over time, reduced the grocery tax and increased the sales tax on certain goods, it was met with pushback from Reeves and Senate Republicans.

The Senate resisted that proposal because its leadership believed the state could not afford to completely abolish the tax. Reeves threw cold water on the proposal because he did not agree with a proposal that raised any type of tax, regardless of whether the proposal resulted in a net tax reduction.

Despite the two leaders' cold reception of Gunn's previous proposal, White is optimistic that a consensus on tax reduction can be reached for the 2025 session. He pointed out that Hosemann has expressed support for reducing the grocery tax, while Reeves has been a vocal advocate of phasing out the income tax.

White, currently in his first term as speaker, also appointed members to the committee on compilation, revision and publication; the PEER committee, which is the Legislature's investigative committee; a select committee on prescription drugs; and a select committee on reforming certificate of need laws.

Here are the House members White appointed to the select tax committee:

CO-CHAIR: Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia
CO-CHAIR: Scott Bounds, R-Philadelphia
Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville
Karl Oliver, R-Winona
Shane Aguirre, R-Tupelo
Clay Deweese, R-Oxford
Angela Cockerham, I-Magnolia
Billy Adam Calvert, R-Meridian
Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi
Randy Rushing, R-Decatur
Lee Yancey, R-Brandon
Hester McCray, D-Horn Lake
Dana McLean, R-Columbus
Ronnie Crudup, Jr., D-Jackson
Otis Anthony, D-Indianola
Lawrence Blackmon, D-Canton
Justin Keen, R-Byhalia
Tracey Rosebud, D-Tutwiler

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today launches collaboration with JPMorganChase

Published

3 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Staff Editor

The American Journalism Project today announced it is teaming up with JPMorganChase to support local news organizations throughout the country. In addition to providing funding for the American Journalism Project's national efforts to rebuild local news, JPMorganChase is sponsoring eight nonprofit newsrooms nationwide, sharing ongoing financial health content, organizing local events, and providing expertise tailored to their unique challenges to help meet their business and operational goals. This work with JPMorganChase marks the first time the American Journalism Project is collaborating with a financial services firm.

“As the largest bank in the country, this commitment from JPMorganChase sends a powerful signal that corporations can play an integral role in rebuilding local news,” said Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project. “The investment and scale will infuse resources in a thrilling new generation of news outlets that are working to ensure local news is available to all, strengthening and informing communities.”

“The evidence is clear that a thriving local news ecosystem is key to more civic engagement and a healthy democracy. JPMorganChase believes supporting sustainable models for local news is essential to meeting information needs, strengthening communities and fostering inclusive economic growth,” said Andrew Gray, Managing Director of Regional Communications for JPMorganChase. “The American Journalism Project is playing a key role in supporting the sector by growing local news from the ground up so outlets can independently thrive. We're proud to be a part of this effort, and engage locally to identify the best opportunities where we can make an impact.”

JPMorganChase will work directly with eight local nonprofit news organizations in the American Journalism Project's portfolio, including:

THE CITY (New York City), a nonpartisan news outlet that serves the people of New York through independent journalism that holds the powerful to account, deepens democratic participation, and makes sense of complex issues.
Block Club Chicago, a newsroom dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant, and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods.
Mississippi Today, which as part of the Deep South Today nonprofit news network is providing free nonpartisan news to inform communities statewide and ensure accountability from public officials.
Cityside (San Francisco Bay Area), a nonpartisan digital news organization building community through local journalism with three local news sites, Berkeleyside, The Oaklandside and Richmondside.
Montana Free Press, a nonpartisan, public-powered news organization dedicated to reaching and serving the information needs of all Montanans by producing in-depth news, information, and analysis.
Signal Ohio, a statewide news organizations with newsrooms in Cleveland and Akron, committed to producing high-quality accountability journalism while working directly with residents to produce and distribute community reporting that is free to access for all
Fort Worth Report, producing independent, factual news coverage that aims to find solutions for community issues and strengthen a diverse and rapidly growing city and home county.
Spotlight Delaware, a community-powered, collaborative newsroom covering the impact of public policy, increasing access to information and civic engagement in historically underserved communities, and strengthening existing newsrooms throughout the state.

“Deep South Today is grateful for this opportunity to partner with JPMorganChase to further build the capacity of Mississippi Today to deliver essential local news to the communities it serves,” said Warwick Sabin, President and CEO of Deep South Today. “We look forward to working closely with them over the long term to achieve a healthier democracy and civil society through journalism that informs, engages, and inspires more Mississippians.”

AJP is the leading venture philanthropy working to address the market failure in local news. It is establishing and advancing a new generation of nonprofit local news organizations across the country. Founded in 2019, AJP is built on the evidence that robust journalism is an essential component of a healthy democracy. To date, AJP has raised $175M from local and national funders to address the local news crisis and has backed 44 news operations across 33 states.

JPMorganChase is a leading financial services firm and one of the oldest financial institutions in the U.S. It serves millions of customers, clients, and communities in 100+ global markets. This collaboration with AJP is part of the bank's overarching efforts to support local journalism.

About the American Journalism Project

The American Journalism Project is a venture philanthropy dedicated to local news. We believe in civic journalism as a public good and are reimagining its future by building a model to finance and sustain the local news our democracy requires. We make grants to local nonprofit news organizations to build their revenue and business operations, partner with communities to launch new organizations, and meteor leaders as they grow and sustain their newsrooms. To learn more about the American Journalism Project, visit our website.

About JPMorganChase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $4.1 trillion in assets and $337 billion in stockholders' equity as of March 31, 2024. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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JULY 1, 1870

Congress created the Department of Justice to handle the flood of post-Civil War litigation. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Amos T. Akerman, whose priority became the protection of Black voting rights from attacks by the Ku Klux Klan and similar groups.

Congress aided that fight by passing additional laws that gave the department powerful tools to fight these violent white supremacist groups. These new laws enabled Akerman to obtain hundreds of convictions across the South. On one day in November 1871, 250 men in a South Carolina county confessed membership in the Klan.

Historian William McFeely wrote of Akerman, “Perhaps no attorney general since his tenure … has been more vigorous in the prosecution of cases designed to protect the lives and rights of Black Americans.”

But instead of rewarding Akerman, Grant dismissed him, and the battle to preserve these voting rights became less of a priority.

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