Mississippi leaders prepare for legislative session
MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Over the next few months, the state’s senate and house of representatives will pass laws affecting Mississippians.
The Mississippi Legislature will begin meeting in Jackson for its 2025 session on January 7.
Tax cuts — both sales and income — are expected to be on the agenda.
I spoke with Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves recently about the issue.
“I call it the tax on work. And so, if you’re paying income tax in the state of Mississippi, and you think you ought to pay less, then you need to talk to your legislator, and say ‘Hey, why don’t you all eliminate the income tax,'” said Reeves.
District 41 State Representative Kabir Karriem will also be attending the legislative session.
He also shared his thoughts on tax cuts.
“There’s a lot of conversation about which one is better and how do we fulfill those voids once the revenue is gone look. The devil is in the details, and we’ve got to find out what’s going to be beneficial to the people of Mississippi,” said Karriem.
A decrease in sales tax would have a direct impact on your grocery bill, but it would also have an impact on city budgets.
“The municipalities in the state of Mississippi rely heavily on that sales tax, so it is incredibly concerning to us that that they might reduce that and how will we make that up,” said Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill.
Spruill says the city uses its portion of sales tax to pay for many of the things city residents rely on.
“We provide services to our community that are incredibly important, and those come to our general fund. Those sales tax dollars come to our general fund, and we rely on them to continue to provide those services at a level our citizens expect,” said Spruill.
Spruill says she will continue to voice her concerns to lawmakers.
The legislative session is scheduled to run until April.
