Mississippi’s Legislature has hearings on whether to abolish the already lower-than-average state tax on income in Mississippi. Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives Philip Gunn has come out in favor of raising sales taxes while abolishing the state income tax in Mississippi, and it appears there are many supporters among Republican circles who favor abolishing the state tax on income.
Sales taxes are forms of taxation that disproportionately flips the bill onto lower-income earners in Mississippi and on consumers at large. Raising sales taxes, in most cases, drives down consumption with higher prices and slows the state’s economy.
This is a death wish for the tax base of Mississippi, which is already on the most federal aid as a percentage of its state government’s revenue, and the most welfare-dependent state in the country, tied with only West Virginia and Louisiana.
Raising these taxes on consumption is harmful to the collection of revenue for the basic functions of the state government, especially among lower-income consumers, which constitute 19.6% of Mississippi’s total population at or below the federal poverty level, and with 27.9% of children in poverty, according to talkpoverty.org, we have the highest in the nation for both rankings.
For reference, the state income tax is between 3-5% of income for taxpayers in Mississippi, because the top marginal tax rate is 5% for all incomes earned above $10,000 and taxpayers pay 3% between $4,000 and $5,000. Taxpayers pay income taxes of 4% only if they earn between $5,000 and $10,000 for the middle tax bracket, and Mississippi has state income tax rate of 0% for all taxpayers who earn any income below $4,000.
To get further perspective on this, lower income residents are still paying state sales taxes, state grocery taxes, excise taxes and the federal gas taxes, and still paying for the county and city property taxes if they own their property. These taxes can be crippling, not only to low-income consumers, but consumers as a whole.
This is taking place not only during runaway inflation due to reckless federal government bailouts to mega-corporations.
According to Johns Hopkins University, At least 600,000 have been killed in the United States from the pandemic and at least 30 million additional people in America are being tossed to the street because their medical bills are killing them because we have only privatized healthcare in this country that has high premiums and outrageous overhead costs that consumers are forced to pay almost every penny!!
Many covid patients can’t pay because they are broke because the federal government tried to shut down the economy for at least six months! The hospitals send their debt collectors to chase down the money from their patients.
There is too much inflation, too much poverty, too much tax burden on the poor under current and proposed plans, too much low income, too many people who can’t afford medical bills.
Here’s what to do:
1) Expand Medicaid under ACA.
2) Ease the tax burden for the working poor in the state legislature. Lower the grocery tax slightly. Keep sales taxes and most excise taxes the same. Change the state income tax brackets to this: 0% for 0 to $12,000 USD; 3% $12,000 to $20,000; 4% $20,000 to $50,000, 5% for $50,000 and up (that would more likely lower income tax); Corporate income taxes/business income taxes should be a flat tax at 5%, which is the current highest bracket of income for corporate taxes.
3) Raise gas tax by two cents. This would make our gas tax 20 cents, below most other states’ gas taxes of at least 22 cents;
4) Bring back legalization of at least medical marijuana but make rules for zoning with the consultation of local governments and groups who favor legalizing medical marijuana.
5) Take the aid from the new federal infrastructure bill, comply with the rules as to how to spend or use the money, and bring in federal money to finally get the state government properly funded to do its functions.
6) Get a vaccine mandate in place for all hospitals, nursing homes and nursing home employees, state employees, K-12 public school teachers, and take all public K-12 schools to virtual learning. There should also be a mask mandate and social distancing when indoors at K-12 public schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and government-owned sites.
These actions would be a balance that could keep the disease incidence levels down, keep inflation from hurting the lower income groups and maintain fairness in our tax code.
John Emmerich is a Northsider.
