House Bill 1562 could lower grocery tax in Mississippi
Mississippi is one of seven states that still taxes groceries. The state’s seven percent grocery tax is the highest in the nation.
House Bill 1562 could cut that tax in half. This bill goes directly against the legislatures push to eliminate income tax.
As inflation rises, so does poverty. Mississippi has a poverty rate of 19 percent, also the highest in the nation.
That means that many of the people who need help the most would not benefit from the elimination of income tax, but would benefit from a grocery tax cut.
Representative Jeffrey Hulum III told News 25 his bill would provide relief to everyone in the state, not just a select few. “And then in the state of Mississippi, we have another bill out there about the income tax. But that bill will only help a group of people. This grocery tax will help everyone in the state of Mississippi, and it will reduce the cost of food that we have in our state. And it will make people be able to provide the necessary nutrition that they need for their family at a lower cost.”
Hulum hopes the legislature will pass the measure which would take effect July 1st.
