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Phase out income tax or cut taxpayers checks? GOP lawmakers, governor disagree

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Phase out income tax or cut taxpayers checks? GOP lawmakers, governor disagree

by Geoff Pender, Mississippi Today
December 7, 2022

Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and other GOP Senate leaders want to use a huge revenue surplus to give Mississippi taxpayers one-time rebate checks.

Republicans Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn still want to phase out the personal income tax, as a follow-on to the massive income tax cuts passed last year, which are still being implemented.

Each side says it wants to give back to taxpayers and its approach is the conservative, prudent thing to do. The issue is likely to bring heated internecine Republican debate in the new year, as it did last legislative session.

“Last year, we passed the largest tax cut in Mississippi history,” Hosemann said. “Phase-in for this $525 million cut begins this year and will result in a 4% flat income tax by 2026. This year, the Senate will propose a tax rebate. Both efforts will put significant tax dollars back into taxpayers’ pockets at a time when citizens are dealing with crippling inflation and an uncertain economy.”

But Gunn said, “No. We are not in favor of a tax rebate. We want permanent, long-term tax relief … My position has always been for elimination, or at the very minimum more tax elimination … (A rebate) is just a one-time payment.”

Reeves recently vowed to push for income tax elimination as long as he is governor, and hasn’t addressed the rebate proposal.

The state is entering its annual legislative session and budget setting with about $3.9 billion in unencumbered money, of which about $1 billion is recurring tax revenue. For scale, the state in fiscal 2022 collected $2.5 billion in personal income taxes. No percentages or amounts of potential rebate checks have been publicly discussed, but lawmakers could cut taxpayers some hefty checks.

READ MORE: Mississippi lawmakers pass the largest tax cut in state history

Hosemann and Senate leaders say the national and state economies are in turbulent, inflationary times with recession possible, and that much of the state surplus is from unprecedented federal spending that isn’t likely to continue or recur. They warn that fully eliminating the income tax in such uncertain economic times is foolhardy. Many state business leaders, including the state’s chamber of commerce, shared this trepidation last legislative session.

READ MORE: Inside the income tax cut battle between House and Senate leaders

Gunn and Reeves say Mississippi’s economy is on a roll that will continue, and that eliminating the personal income tax would help the state compete for economic development. Gunn points to nine states with no income tax, including Florida, Tennessee and Texas, as having thriving economies and growing population.

But no state has ever phased out an individual income tax. Alaska, the only state to eliminate an existing income tax, did so in one fell swoop. The states without income taxes typically have other taxes or excises on which to depend, such as oil in Alaska and Texas and tourism in Florida. Tennessee’s sales and excise taxes are more than 30% above the national average, and 7th highest in the country relative to personal income.

For Mississippi, the shift would be seismic: Individual income taxes generate about a third of the state’s tax revenue. Opponents of major cuts or elimination say the state has too many long-neglected needs in health care, education and infrastructure to upend the state’s tax structure, and it should be spending any windfall to address these.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, said he will introduce a tax rebate bill in the 2023 session, as he did last session. Hopson and Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, said lawmakers need to monitor the economy and huge tax cuts already being implemented before making further sea changes to state tax structure.

“The ultimate objective for those of us who are conservatives is to ensure we put as much money back in people’s pockets as possible,” Hopson said. “However, there are certain services, certain levels of service citizens expect from government … We are looking at some short-term measures to put money back into taxpayers’ pockets to help them with the high cost of goods and inflation … We really haven’t even implemented the last cuts we passed. A tax rebate is more prudent.”

Harkins said major tax policy changes should be made cautiously and over time, but a rebate can be based on a “snapshot,” such as the current budget surplus.

But House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, said, “There’s no question which one is preferable between a multi-year, permanent tax cut versus a one-time slush fund payment. Ultimately, (elimination of the income tax) is better for the economy and ultimately better for working Mississippians. It’s really not even debatable which is better for hard-working Mississippians.”

The 2023 session comes in an election year. Typically, lawmakers try to avoid tackling major, contentious issues or policy during election-year sessions. It appears the tax elimination-rebate debate will be on tap, but some lawmakers and legislative leaders might not be as eager for the wrangling.

House Speaker Pro Tem Jason White, R-West, considered a likely successor for the speakership in 2024 with Gunn’s planned departure, said the state has many needs and demands for the “pile of money” collecting in state coffers. He noted the state faces federal intervention if improvements aren’t made in prisons, with state foster care and mental health and that hospitals across the state are struggling to stay afloat.

“We have a chance to fix some of that,” White said. “I’m not saying we’re not wanting to put more money in taxpayers’ pockets … The House has passed two bills to do that, and we have a four-year plan that has started a phase out of the income tax … We have got some things we should try to fix while we’ve got a surplus before we ask our Senate colleagues to take that next step.”

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

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Mississippi Today

1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed

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April 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-26 07:00:00

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
April 26, 2025

April 26, 1964

Aaron Henry testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention. 

The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.” 

In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity. 

In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election. 

The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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