As much as $52M in state taxes uncollected
At all levels of government, conservatives resist calls for tax increases and in Mississippi the no-new-tax battle cry was handily encapsulated in former Gov. Haley Barbour’s “I’m-against-raising-anybody’s-taxes” mantra.
Some carry it to the extreme of painting themselves into the political corner of signing “no-new-tax” pledges. Others complain loudly about unfunded mandates passed down from the federal government to state governments – only to turn around and pass similar unfunded mandates down to county and municipal governments.
But as I wrote last month, one undeniable fact of any rational discussion of Mississippi taxation is that the state isn’t collecting all the taxes due under the present taxes levied.
Sid Salter
3/7/12
