And a reduction of the grocery tax it seems. How hard are we going to get hit at the pump and with property taxes and car tags now? Anyone seen the bill? Think I saw 10 cents a gallon increase??
So, no more state income tax
- Thread starter The Cooterpoot
- Start date
That won't affect property taxes or car tags. Those are local taxes paid to support your local schools, local services, and local infrastructure. The income tax bill is merely a shift to a consumption tax. In theory, it's a more balanced and fair tax, spread across all consumers, instead of just the working people. The House version added a percent and a half (including outside of municipalities and online sales), plus an increased gasoline tax. Theres a lot more details to it, but that's the gist
Mississippi is extremely rural, so higher gas prices affect a lot of people and helps those in Jackson or the populated areas. It hurts the average Mississippian. That's why I'm asking, plus other states saw properties increases with a shift away from income taxes. These things are always a shell game. Just wondering so I can calculate how it affects me. Not saying I'm for or against it because I haven't run the numbers.
Part of the gas tax is going to State Aid Roads, which is needed. You won’t even notice the tax increase due to the fluctuation in oil prices.
It's absolutely a shell game. And I'm a Republican locally elected official. Consumption taxes will affect the middle and lower class more than the upper class.
Depends on which way it fluctuates. But I micro budget down to the cent so it interests me where they'll make up the difference and how that affects me. Maybe we'll see some more specifics and hope it's not costing me more.
This is true. Currently, counties receive (in total over 82 counties) $90 MM a year for state aid road repair. It's received once per four year term. That figure is increasing by $40 MM per year. So it will help keep your roads up. Year before last it cost us roughly $29,000 per mile to re-seal a road (not asphalt. Sealing it, which is basically painting the road to seal the cracks to keep water out of the base). This year it was $44,000 a mile. Not including striping, which has gone up from $6,000 a mile to $14,000 a mile. Costs to maintain roads and bridges have skyrocketed. I had the engineering done for a bridge bid at an estimated cost of $800,000. When the bid came in last year, it was $1.6 MM. Everything has gone up in cost tremendously
The 2% savings in groceries plus the slow rollback of the income tax should more than cover gas increases for working folks. No income tax is how you attract corporate headquarters and working people to the state, see Tennessee and Texas.
I don’t understand all the finer points, but states that don’t have a personal income tax have been very successful in attracting businesses. Therefore increasing jobs. The fact that Mississippi has been doing it differently in the past is likely a good testament for change. This will also likely pull people across the state line from the Memphis area. On a personal level, I’d much rather be taxed on consumption than earnings. But if you don’t save anything, it probably doesn’t matter.
I'd rather ditch property taxes and keep income taxes. My income may decline, I can decide to work less or take a lower-paying job to reduce my tax burden, but my property taxes may still increase. There's little individuals can do to affect the amount they pay in property taxes as opposed to income taxes.
Yall stop making me feel good about this! Is bourbon a "grocery"?*
This is a good point. Property Insurance is out of control already, and if property taxes start jumping in rural MS, going to be hard to afford a property. Mississippi needs the higher end job and hopefully it triggers some things there.
One must be incredibly naive to think that this action will actually save $ for anyone other than those with the highest incomes. I can rationalize though that we will all at least get some choice about when we pay our taxes (when we make purchases) instead of having them deducted from our pay.
I live out of state, but I assume Mississippi's income tax is relatively low anyway. So I'm curious about the economic impact.
But I'm all for efficiency, and it would be nice to not have to file state income taxes.
But I'm all for efficiency, and it would be nice to not have to file state income taxes.
when property taxes go away, you'll no longer have maintained or new roads, public schools, land deed recording, a place to register your new car, your garbage picked up, a place to recover damages in court, a place to record your marriage, a place to hold a criminal accountable for wronging you, a police and sheriff's dept,....i could go on. All of those things are what your property taxes pay for. If property taxes go away, you'd have to see something like 25% sales tax to make up for it, and I'm just spitballing on that number. It could be higher. The money to provide those services still has to come from somewhere. And labor costs for counties has skyrocketed, too, because nobody wants to work and the quality of the ones that do has declined.
Land taxes fluctuate on a 5 year moving average. They go up and down over time slowly but land values have steadily climbed in the last 10 years and so have some county millage rates resulting in a steady climb.
what has people shell-shocked on property taxes is re-assessments. The MS Dept of Revenue mandates that properties be re-assessed every 4 years, and between 2019 and 2024, properties nationwide increased in value by 27%, on average. Our county hasn't raised the millage rate in 14 years, but because of a re-assessment, property taxes increased, and the COVID years inflated the re-assessment
Just use revenue from income taxes to pay for things once paid for by property taxes. You just pointed out that you'd have to raise money from another tax, sales taxes in your example. I suggest using income taxes instead of sales taxes.
the point of the bill is that income taxes are going away. besides, income taxes can't be used for local services, by present statute. income taxes are what runs your state provided services, like MDOT, MEMA, MDHS, etc...
How in the hell do they expect new volleyball facilities to be built?
I review public infrastructure grant projects, and these costs are insane. I am not sure how we are ever going to be able to pay for this stuff if the costs keep going this direction. I am seeing water wells at over a mill and a half regularly in rural Mississippi.
My buddy was excited about that when he moved to Texas. He pays no income tax, but is property taxes are more than double what he was paying in Spanish Fort, Al.
They will get their money…
I just got notice that my costs of water heaters is increasing 15% at the first of next month. The same water heater has doubled since 2020 (before this new increase). They are American made, too.
I understand that. I'm suggesting that instead of the anti-tax sentiment focusing on income taxes, often only income taxes, they look at property taxes because, regardless of income, property taxes can increase, often dramatically, along with property insurance, thus increasing the tax burden of individuals even if their income doesn't increase. The "but we use property taxes to pay for yada, yada, yada and income taxes for yada, yada..." So change how you pay for services. Tax law policy isn't the 10 commandments.
Where do you think the rising costs are coming from? Are petroleum products costing 2x? Labor costs?
I'd love to itemize cost comparisons over time on projects like this.
Reminds me of an old Letterman joke that went something like:
"Today the NY Legislature voted to formally legalize homosexuality. Due to a wording mixup, they accidentally made it mandatory"
2021 cost estimate for bridge in a metro county = $30 million.
2025 cost estimate for same bridge = $54 million.
Nothing changed except 4 years of MDOT delays.
Income tax is middling, but our overall tax burden is pretty high. 7% (plus upt to 2% extra in a lot of municipalities) is on the higher end of sales tax, the 4% (which was recently 5% with a low standard deduction) was in the middle to upper range, and property taxes are relatively low. The combination of a high sales tax and pretty high income tax makes us a pretty high tax burden state, even with low property taxes. Of course that still doesn't make us flush with revenue because we are low income, but as a percentage basis I think we were somewhere in the 15-20th highest burden.
The tariff talk is going to run up prices on everything, even things it's not on- opportunity costs
all of the above. and diesel (there's no logical reason diesel is as high as it is), other construction materials, mobilization costs, hotel cost for construction workers while working, and, as you said, labor costs have gone through the roof. it's just everything that has gone sky high. with the labor, it's a supply and demand issue. not enough supply, and too much demand.
Working for insurance companies has gotten crazy. I’ve seen more people straight up denied this year for **** that should be covered than I have in 20 years of plumbing
When everyone is spending on credit with other people’s money, who cares what it costs? Certainly not the person creating the purchase order.
same for my bridge. engineering estimate and state aid request was done 3 years ago, and bid was last year. $867,000 estimate. $1.61 bid. insane
Something else to consider on bridge costs is this. a lot of bridges were condemned or threatened to be condemned in 2017 across the state of MS. So, a ton of bridges had to be repaired or replaced in a short period of time. That gave the bridge builders so much work that they could bid up as high as they wanted to, because they knew there were 50 other bridges they could bid on if they missed on that bid. just a supply and demand issue. That crisis is essentially over, but prices didn't come back down as demand decreased.
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I think their excuse is “the metal.” Brother we have metal production in this country, too. Use it. That was the point of the tariffs. Problem is, they will manipulate it and pass it on to the consumer, which is what this is, imo.
So, when I retire and no longer have any income, they eliminate the income tax? Sound’s about right!