A majority of Mississippi voters support reducing some of the state’s taxes, expanding Medicaid to the working poor and increasing for new roads, according to recent polling commissioned by House Speaker Jason White.
The poll, conducted August 26-27 by private firm Cygnal, surveyed 500 people online and through text messaging. It showed likely general election voters identified inflation, tax policy, health care and crime as some of their main issues.
“In the House, we will make informed decisions based on verifiable data, not partisan rhetoric,” White said in a press release. “Mississippi is facing critical challenges and the House of Representatives is committed to doing the work that the people care about most.”
The poll showed that 14.7% of respondents identified eliminating the state’s personal income tax as their most important issue, while a slightly lower percentage, 14%, identified reducing or eliminating the state’s grocery tax as their most important policy goal.
However, the poll also showed a greater percentage of respondents overall support reducing the grocery tax instead of reducing the personal income tax. Around 84% of respondents overall support eliminating Mississippi’s 7% tax on groceries, while 64% of respondents support phasing out the state’s 4.7% income tax.
The poll results were released after first-term Speaker White, held a summit on tax policy last month and as a group of House members study reducing state taxes.
The results are also the latest in consistent polling by various groups showing a majority of Republicans and voters overall support expanding Medicaid coverage to more Mississippians. Earlier this year, the House and Senate attempted to pass a form of expansion, but negotiations between the two chambers stalled. It’s expected the policy will be debated during the 2025 session.
Cyngal also released a poll commissioned by the American Cancer Society earlier this year, concluding that likely Republican primary voters support expansion.
The poll commissioned by White also concluded:
46% of respondents support reforming the state’s certificate of need program, 17% of people neither support nor oppose reforming the policy and 14% of people oppose it.
41% of people support early voting while 30% opposite it
68% of people support restoring suffrage to people previously convicted of some disenfranchising felony offenses
Some of the questions on the poll were very specific, such as the questions about tax policy. At the same time, other topics were more vague, such as education policy, one of which was described: “Do you support or oppose policies that enable parents to take a more active role in deciding the best path for their children’s education?”
The poll likely offers a glimpse into the policy issues White and the House leadership will tackle during the upcoming 2025 legislative session that begins in early January.
The post Poll released by Speaker Jason White shows Mississippi voters support cutting state taxes appeared first on Mississippi Today.