Josh Hendrickson on Mississippi’s Tax System

ICLE Academic Affiliate Joshua R. Hendrickson was quoted by WJTV News 12 in a story about proposed changes to Mississippi’s system of taxation. You can read the full piece here.

Dr. Joshua Hendrickson, chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Mississippi, said the state’s current tax structure is an obstacle for many.

“We sort of have the worst of all worlds. You earn a dollar and that dollar gets taxed by the income tax. And then if you spend that dollar, it gets taxed again by the sales tax. If you save that dollar and you earn any interest on that dollar, that that interest gets taxed on the income tax. The state is going to have to think about how to streamline it’s tax system,” said Hendrickson.

…“I’m not sure that the state will be able to completely eliminate the income tax without replacing some of that revenue. Just trying to get there without increasing any other taxes seems very, very unlikely,” said Hendrickson.