Mississippi Governor Enacts Law to Gradually Eliminate Individual Income Tax
The recent legislation reduces the individual income tax rate to 3 percent by the year 2030, with the rate continuing to decline annually until it is fully eliminated.
Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi has enacted groundbreaking legislation that abolishes individual income tax in the state.
House Bill 1, the newly signed legislation, lowers the individual income tax rate to 3 percent by 2030, and it will continue to decrease each year until it is entirely abolished.
In addition, the law reduces the grocery sales tax from seven percent to five percent.
Reeves claims that this new measure will turn Mississippi into a hub for corporate investment and draw workers from neighboring states.
The decision by Mississippi has sparked significant backlash from local officials and experts alike. Critics express concerns that the new law phases out the tax without implementing any new taxes, raising questions about how the state will manage its fiscal resources.
Neva Butkus, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, estimates that this law could lead to a $2.6 billion cut to the existing $7 billion general fund budget.
“The state is essentially committing to a drastic and extreme reduction in revenue during a particularly volatile period when it might also face substantial federal cuts to social programs that many in Mississippi depend on,” Butkus remarked. “They are doing this while simultaneously creating an advantage for the state’s wealthiest residents in the poorest state in the nation.”
“The abolishment of the income tax is not merely a triumph for our economy; it signifies a victory for freedom, for families, and for the notion that Mississippi can lead in this century,” the governor stated.
Reeves pointed out that only a few states in the nation do not tax income. Whether other states will adopt similar measures remains to be acknowledged. California gubernatorial hopeful Chad Bianco recently stated that if he were elected, he would prioritize an initiative to eliminate the Golden State’s income tax.
This report was contributed to by the Associated Press.