Income-tax phaseout up for debate in long-poor Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is accustomed to being first in worsts: It's one of the poorest, unhealthiest states in the nation, with public schools that are chronically underfunded. Some Republican leaders say a good way to boost the state's fortunes would be to phase out its income tax.

“There is no downside to putting money back into the pockets of Mississippians,” said Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn, one of the main sponsors of a tax cut bill advancing in the Legislature.

Opponents say erasing the income tax is a terrible idea because it would mean even less money for schools, health care, roads and other services, especially hurting poor and working-class residents. The Mississippi income tax accounts for 34% of state revenue. Wealthy people would see the biggest financial boost from eliminating the income tax, because they're the ones paying the most now.

Democratic state Sen. Hob Bryan said people don’t choose where to live because of tax policy but because of family ties and quality of life. He said people live in high-tax New York, for example, because the city offers opportunities.

“The notion that if the people in Manhattan only found out that Mississippi did not have an income tax, they’d all ... get on a bus to Mississippi and move down here — it’s just laughable on its face,” Bryan said.

Mississippi's population has dwindled in the past decade, even as other Sun Belt states are bustling with new residents. Tax-cut proposals are a direct effort to compete with states that don’t tax earnings, including Texas, Florida and Tennessee — places to which many young Mississippians are moving for fatter paychecks.

Married couple Les and Amanda Jordan live near the south Mississippi town of Summit. He's a retired public school administrator and she's a...