Mississippi

Mississippi lawmakers vote to abolish income tax but made mistakes

Published

7 months ago

March 21, 2025

Press Room

Mississippi lawmakers vote to abolish income tax but made mistakes

Lawmakers passed a bill to phase out the state’s income tax by 2030. But, the bill contained a mistake.

An oversight in the bill’s revenue triggers could result in faster tax rate reductions than intended, as noted by analysts and confirmed by lawmakers.
The House has held the bill for reconsideration to potentially amend the error before sending it to Gov. Tate Reeves for approval.

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Mississippi lawmakers passed legislation that would eventually phase out the state’s income tax. However, the bill language contains a mistake that would trigger drops in the rate more quickly than planned.

An amended House Bill 1 passed in the House by a 92-27 margin on Thursday. If signed by Gov. Tate Reeves, it would decrease the state’s income tax by 0.25% annually until it reaches 3% in 2030. The tax would drop further based on how much more tax revenue the state brings in than it spends. The bill also lowers the state’s grocery tax from its current 7% to 5%.

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To compensate for some lost revenue, the bill would gradually increase the state’s gas tax to 27 cents per gallon by July 2027.

The House and Senate had separate plans to cut the income tax, but senators amended and returned the House version for concurrence.

The mistake

The Tax Foundation’s Jared Walczak pointed out the potential error Thursday morning, noting that the triggers for the years after 2030 in which the state would cut the income tax would be much smaller than the revenue drop from the cut.

“Let’s say each point on the rate is worth $460 million (ballpark),” he posted to X. “Growth of 0.85% of $460 million is ~$4 million. The cost of a 0.2% rate cut is $92 million!”

Mississippi Today confirmed the error with multiple lawmakers, saying the .85% should have been 85%.

House lawmakers chose to hold the bill for reconsideration instead of sending it to Reeves for consideration. It’s unclear if they’ll amend the bill or pass it and change the law before the mistaken revenue triggers take effect in the coming years.

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Mississippi

Mississippi woman searches for daughter in Jamaica

Published

4 hours ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

Mississippi woman searches for daughter in Jamaica

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A Mississippi mother is searching for answers after not being able to get in contact with her daughter who is trapped in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa.

Lori Washington, an Ocean Springs native, told 3 On Your Side that she has not heard from her daughter since Monday.

“Now my mind is flashing back to the phone call that I got when my soldier was killed,” Washington said. “My oldest boy was killed in 2014 and now I’m scared that I’m going to get another phone call.”

She shared that her daughter, Lasha Thornton, travels frequently for work and the last location she knew of her whereabouts was Trelawny, Jamaica.

Washington says Thornton just turned 26 and must’ve been in Jamaica for her birthday.

In a text from her daughter Monday, Washington shared that she informed her the airports were shut down, and she would have to wait out the storm.

It has now been two days since hearing from her daughter, and Washington is doing all that she can to find answers.

“Once some reporter over there can hear this and make sure that my daughter is either at the convention center, where they have some of the tourists, or if they can check, I just want to know she’s okay and that she’s eating and she’s hydrated,” Washington said. “And I want her to come home, it’s time to come home.”

According to a post Tuesday on the country’s government website, there were around 6,000 people in shelters.

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Mississippi

Lab monkeys on loose after Mississippi crash were disease-free, university says

Published

23 hours ago

October 29, 2025

Press Room

Lab monkeys on loose after Mississippi crash were disease-free, university says

A group of monkeys being transported on a Mississippi highway that escaped captivity on Tuesday after the truck carrying them overturned did not carry a dangerous infectious disease, a university has said.

The truck was carrying rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16lb (7.7kg) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet.

Video shows monkeys crawling through tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates labeled “live animals” crumpled and strewn about.

The local sheriff’s department initially said the monkeys were carrying diseases including herpes, but Tulane University said in a statement that the monkeys “have not been exposed to any infectious agent”.

All but one of the escaped monkeys were killed, the Jasper county sheriff’s department said in a post on Facebook, warning that the monkeys were “aggressive”.

They were being housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university.

The crash happened about 100 miles (160km) from the state capital of Jackson. It was not clear what caused the truck to overturn.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Mississippi

What oddsmakers predict will happen when Mississippi State faces Arkansas

Published

2 days ago

October 28, 2025

Press Room

What oddsmakers predict will happen when Mississippi State faces Arkansas

Mississippi State’s hope of reaching six wins and going to a bowl game this season are on life support.

The Bulldogs have lost their last four games, all SEC games, and in heart-breaking fashion, too. Two of those losses were overtime games and another was lost on last minute interception.

Mississippi State needs a win, not just for its bowl game aspirations, but also to give the fanbase something to cheer about instead of calling for a coaching change.

“One, thank you for the support, the atmosphere and the energy. And Saturday was as good as it gets,” Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Lebby said Monday when asked about what his message to the upset fans. “You’ve all heard me talk about how much I appreciate our community and our connection and the passion, the love that people have for Mississippi State. I love that. That’s one of the greatest things about our university.

“I hate that (the fans are) not getting to enjoy (wins). My hope is that we have the ability to go take care of business and go get a tough, hard win on the road on Saturday. And then come back home to another great crowd.”

Fortunately, Mississippi State’s opponent this week represents the most winnable SEC game left on its schedule, even if Lebby won’t admit that’s what Arkansas is.

“No, not in the least bit,” Lebby said. “We’re playing the best two and six football team in the country this week. They’ve got a quarterback that is elite at everything that he does. They have played really well offensively. Auburn did a really good job defensively the other day, creating some turnovers. Arkansas struggled in the red zone a little bit.

“But their ability to score and play great offensively is very well documented. And then defensively, they’ve played better. They haven’t been great against the run, but they were better this past week.”

But that doesn’t change the fact the odds for the Bulldogs this week are the best they’ll be the rest of the season.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook