"Tax base: Legislature paying attention?"
By Clarion Ledger Editorial Board
As Mississippi lawmakers travel back to Jackson to begin the 2010 session, it would seem that all 174 legislators and all eight statewide elected officials would have learned one key lesson over the past 16 months.
Mississippi has the highest sales tax on food in the nation. But cities rely on sales tax revenue to fund budgets and municipal leaders fear cutting sales taxes will result in increases in property taxes.
The Tax Foundation ranks Mississippi 21st in the nation in terms of state business tax climate, but 36th in the nation in terms of state and local tax burdens.
The history of taxation in Mississippi bears out this difference.
State leaders have consistently opposed cutting the sales tax based on the fear that they might be forced to raise income or corporate income taxes—traditionally low taxes in Mississippi. ...
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A...
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