Dowdy - "We'll Cut the Grocery Tax"

The Democratic Response to the Mississippi Economic Policy Council study:

A study released today by the Mississippi Economic Policy Council supports Mississippi Democratic Party candidates’ and leaders’ calls for a lower state sales tax on groceries.

The study says Mississippi’s sales tax of 7 cents on the dollar is especially regressive “because it fully taxes groceries – an expenditure that low-income working families cannot avoid making.” Mississippi is one of two states to fully tax food with no offsets.

“Democratic Party leaders and our nominees have been saying this for months: Reduce the sales tax on groceries and give everybody a tax break,” said Wayne Dowdy, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.

“Something isn’t right when the nation’s poorest state charges a 7 percent sales tax on groceries. Mississippi residents have wanted something done about this for a long time. That’s why voters need to elect Democrats in November – we’ll cut the grocery tax.”

In 2006, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed two bills during the legislative session that would have eliminated or reduced the sales tax on groceries. Earlier this year, in the 2007 session, Barbour had a top GOP ally in the state Senate kill a similar proposal.

Barbour’s ally, state Sen. Tommy Robertson, lost his re-election bid last month.

Dowdy said electing Democrats to state and legislative office will change things in January. He said voters shouldn’t believe Barbour when he says he wants to study the state tax structure before proposing any possible cuts.

“Gov. Barbour is putting up a smoke screen,” Dowdy said. “He had a chance to give Mississippians immediate tax relief in 2006 and again this year, but he chose not to. It’s more than obvious where Gov. Barbour stands on reducing Mississippi’s grocery tax.

“Let’s go to the polls in November,” Dowdy said. “Let’s support Democratic nominees for state, district, legislative and county posts. And let’s open the 2008 legislative session in January by cutting the sales tax and helping everyone in Mississippi.”