It’s time to eliminate Mississippi’s
individual income tax.
The Mississippi House and Senate are weighing bills that, if passed, would reduce or eliminate the state’s personal income tax.
This year’s NFIB Mississippi member ballot shows 77.9% of small business owners want lawmakers to reduce or eliminate the personal income tax. Most small businesses in the state are organized as pass-through entities, meaning the owners pay taxes at the individual rather than the corporate rate.
State House
The House version of the bill is called the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022. If passed, it would:
- Income tax exemptions would be increased to $25,000 for single workers and $50,000 for married filers. This is down from the original House proposal that increased the exemptions to $40,000 and $80,000, respectively, in year one.
- The full phase-out would be implemented based on a fiscal rule concerning revenue and spending based on 1.6% of growth.
- There is no sales tax increase. The original plan included a 1.5 percent increase.
- The grocery tax would be reduced to 4 percent at a quarter of a point per year.
- There is no car tag reduction.
State Senate
The Senate’s proposed $446.6 million tax relief package would:
- Begin a four-year drawdown of the top marginal income tax rate from 5 percent to 4.6 percent.
- It then eliminates the 4 percent tax bracket, which is the first $5,000 of taxable income, over the next four years.
- Reduce the grocery tax to 5 percent.
- Places a 6-month moratorium on gas taxes.
State House
The House version of the bill is called the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022. If passed, it would:
- Income tax exemptions would be increased to $25,000 for single workers and $50,000 for married filers. This is down from the original House proposal that increased the exemptions to $40,000 and $80,000, respectively, in year one.
- The full phase-out would be implemented based on a fiscal rule concerning revenue and spending based on 1.6% of growth
- There is no sales tax increase. The original plan included a 1.5 percent increase.
- The grocery tax would be reduced to 4 percent at a quarter of a point per year.
- There is no car tag reduction.
State Senate
The Senate’s proposed $446.6 million tax relief package would:
- Begin a four-year drawdown of the top marginal income tax rate from 5 percent to 4.6 percent.
- It then eliminates the 4 percent tax bracket, which is the first $5,000 of taxable income, over the next four years.
- Reduce the grocery tax to 5 percent.
- Places a 6-month moratorium on gas taxes.
It’s estimated the House version would save the average individual $1,513 in the first year, while the Senate version would save individuals an average of $260 in the first year.