Posted originally on Mar 24, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

Good news for the people of Mississippi—lawmakers have finally removed the state income tax. Mississippi is now joins Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Texas, and Wyoming in eliminating this excessive and predatory taxation practice.

The first income tax was created in 1861 during the Civil War as a mechanism to finance the war effort. In addition, Congress passed the Internal Revenue Act in 1862, which created the Bureau of Internal Revenue, an eventual predecessor to the IRS. The Bureau of Internal Revenue placed excise taxes on everything from tobacco to jewelry. However, the income tax did not last and was not renewed in 1872. In the Springer v. United States 102 US 586 (1881), the Supreme Court upheld the income tax.

The origin of the current income tax on individuals is generally cited as the passage of the 16th Amendment, passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913. It was on June 16, 1909, President William Howard Taft, in an address to the Sixty-first Congress, proposed a two percent federal income tax on corporations by way of an excise tax and a constitutional amendment to allow the previously enacted income tax.

Once this Marxist concept of direct taxation was created, then the government must know everything we do, track us for it assumes we all cheat and lie, and in the process, it is hunting money globally to the point that world economic growth has been declining.

Those against Mississippi eliminating the income tax are proponents of big government. They are concerned that the lost revenue will hurt the public sector and low-income residents will be disproportionately burdened as other taxes are likely to rise. Yet, eliminating the income tax will directly lead to Mississippians receiving a larger take-home pay. Businesses, especially small businesses, end up taking on this tax as is passed through from entities to the individual owner who is unable reinvest those funds into his or her company. Businesses will now have the ability to become more competitive and attract a more desirable workforce.

The state has until 2037 to determine how to manage its budget without robbing its citizens and punishing workers. Income tax will fall from 4% to 3% in 2027 and then will see a 0.3% reduction until it is eliminated entirely.

Income tax is a relic of failed economic policies that governments refuse to abandon because it gives them direct control over the wealth of the people. When you tax income, you reduce incentives to work, invest, and innovate. Governments use the tax as a reason to continue perpetual spending that always leads to deficits. States do not need this tax to function. States need to operate within their means to function without punishing the people for fiscal mismanagement.