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Household Feud Brewing Over Revenue Tax Elimination? Cash to Burn in State Coffers. Excessive nepotism at play in legislative races? Mississippi High 50 Honorees for 2023!
It’s Time to Play the Feud
On Tuesday, Home management anticipated to roll out an revenue tax proposal to complete what they began final yr. The trouble hit a snag within the Home Republican caucus and has generated some Twitter kerfuffle.
It warrants backing up a bit. Two years in the past, outgoing Speaker Philip Gunn introduced an formidable goal of eliminating the revenue tax in Mississippi.
In yr one of many effort, Gunn’s plan bumped into opposition within the Mississippi Senate. Final yr, it at an deadlock, earlier than a compromise was reached with the Senate. The compromise, which was signed into regulation by Gov. Tate Reeves, fell wanting full elimination, however yielded the biggest exemption within the nation amongst states that tax revenue and a flat 4 p.c tax (down from a high price of 5 p.c).
Gunn aimed on his means out to complete the job this yr. A number of sources from inside the Republican Home caucus spoke to Magnolia Tribune on the situation of anonymity. Every relayed that Speaker Gunn offered two plans to the caucus in two separate conferences.
The primary plan would have picked up on the completion of final yr’s invoice and continued, on an annual foundation, rolling down the tax price till the revenue tax was no extra. The second would have introduced the speed down to three.5 p.c after which stopped.
Any income invoice requires a super-majority of three/5ths of the chamber to go. As luck would have it, Republicans have such a super-majority of their pocket, but it surely requires close to consensus inside the caucus.
And that’s the place issues went awry. In line with our sources, Speaker Gunn invited the membership to let him know whether or not they have been against shifting ahead. He reported again to the caucus that twelve members had voiced opposition.
On Thursday, outgoing Rep. Dana Criswell cryptically printed an inventory of caucus members, with no commentary. The tweet was then retweeted by Mississippi Freedom Caucus Ex. Dir. Steven Utroska with this remark: “An inventory of Republicans that apparently by no means learn the Republican Platform tenant of chopping taxes.”
Criswell’s tweet record was subsequently deleted, however not earlier than his colleague Rep. Missy McGee (who appeared on the record below the alias of Missy MacGee) obtained in a shot on Criswell, referring to each him and Utroska as trolls.
The consensus amongst these we spoke with was that Rep. Becky Currie led the battle in opposition to further tax cuts inside the caucus. It was reported that her feedback have been much less policy-oriented and extra private in nature.
Others who have been reported as having voiced concern included Reps. Donnie Scoggins, Noah Sanford, Kevin Felsher, Carolyn Crawford, Steve Massengill, Jerry Turner, and Greg Haney. None of our sources indicated that Rep. McGee spoke out in the course of the caucus assembly.
Nearly the entire folks we spoke with indicated that there have been various levels of nuance, that it was not clear that everybody who voiced concern would have voted in opposition to the invoice have been it to have made it the ground, and even that they have been among the many 12 who advised the Speaker “no,” and excepting Rep. Currie, that the considerations have been principally policy-oriented. Some surmised that even when policy-oriented, the controversy uncovered a fissure within the Social gathering between those that need to cut back the dimensions of presidency and those that need to improve it.
When requested for remark, the Speaker’s workplace declined, citing long-standing coverage of not discussing what happens in caucus. Along with Gunn, Gov. Tate Reeves has made it clear that revenue tax elimination is a high precedence for him. It will likely be fascinating to see if he calls a particular session to drive the problem.
Burning a Gap in Your Pocket
The talk over tax cuts doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The state of Mississippi is sitting on wads of money. The state got here into this yr with practically $4 billion in reserves, and back-to-back years with over $1 billion in surplus income.
After a few years of woefully underestimating income, the income estimating committee dramatically bumped the income estimate for FY 2023 as much as practically $7 billion for the yr. Mississippi’s fiscal years begin on July 1st and conclude on June 30th of the next yr.
Regardless of the bump, revenues proceed to pour in, nicely in extra of the estimate. By January, with 5 months remaining, the state was $502 million above estimate for the primary 7 months of the fiscal yr. Which means even when revenues decline to the estimate baseline for the subsequent 5 months, the state would absorb $7.5 billion this fiscal yr.
The advisable common fund price range for FY 2024 was $6.3 billion, which by itself is an enormous improve over previous years. As an example, means again in FY 2022, the state common fund price range was $5.74 billion. And for those who enterprise even additional into yesteryear, means, means again to FY 2020, the state common fund price range was $5.54 billion.
If the numbers are making your eyes bleed, the purpose is that the state is each bringing in and spending boocoodles of cash. And with the Scrooge McDuck-style vault busting on the seams, its burning a gap within the pocket of some legislators, Republican and Democrat alike.
Basically then, the controversy devolves to the query of whether or not we predict folks spend their very own cash higher than authorities, or if authorities spends cash higher than the individuals who earned it. This shouldn’t be a troublesome query for anybody who claims conservativism, or who understands primary economics, however alas, right here we’re.
Mama, Don’t Let Your Infants Develop As much as Be Legislators
Talking of household feuds, might one be brewing inside the Blackmon home? In all probability not. Anne Summerhays of Magnolia Tribune reported this week that sitting Sen. Barbara Blackmon, who certified for re-election on January 3rd, has an opponent: her son Bradford. Sitting Rep. Ed Blackmon and husband to Barbara, who additionally certified for re-election on January 3rd, has an opponent: his son Lawrence.
Each of the youthful Blackmons certified on deadline day, February 1st. Whereas the kinds for qualifying embody a spot for the time paperwork is turned in, that spot was left clean on Bradford and Lawrence’s kind.
We are going to see how this unfolds, but it surely has all of the makings of a literal handoff of legislative seats to the Blackmon kids. Incumbents, significantly incumbents in Mississippi, aren’t drawing plenty of opposition lately. So the play seems to be like this: mother and pop qualify to maintain any could be challengers out of the race, the pups swoop in on the shut of qualifying, after which mother and pop drop from their respective races. Ta-da, youngsters win races with out the opposition that might have occurred had these been open races.
It’s a unclean, undemocratic play. It ought to be frowned upon. However at a minimal, it ought to be reported.
And the Winner Is
Final night time, Magnolia Tribune teamed with some nice co-sponsors to current the Sixth Annual MS High 50. MS High 50 honors the 50 most influential politicians, authorities affairs professionals, and enterprise and tradition leaders from throughout the state.
This yr’s crop of winners stretch the gambit from the halls of Congress to the state home to your native church. We have been additionally honored to acknowledge as this yr’s Corridor of Fame inductees Sen. Roger Wicker and Civil Rights icon James Meredith. You may test right here for an entire record of winners:
When Magnolia Tribune was launched, we acquired the property of Y’all Politics by means of a charitable contribution. A part of that acquisition included the MS High 50 Occasion. We’re completely happy to proceed the custom of honoring Mississippi’s greatest and brightest and our grateful for our companions within the occasion WJTV, C Spire, Atmos, Capitol Assets, MS Farm Bureau Federation, and The Payne Group.
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