Both chambers of the Mississippi legislature have trumpeted tax reform legislation in the 2025 session. While lawmakers in the Senate and the House are hopeful that a landing spot can be reached to send a bill to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves’ desk, differing approaches are set for a collision course.
While Senate Bill 3095 and House Bill 1 both propose massive tax cuts, the two outline a differing route. HB 1 was whisked through its originating chamber by an overwhelming vote of 88-24 in January and has since been referred to committee in the Senate. Meanwhile, SB 3095 hit the table nearly 40 days later, officially filed by author Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, on Feb. 19.
The Senate’s tax bill has yet to pass the chamber, but has cleared committee and is expected to be taken up for a full vote before next week’s deadline to do so.
The key differences in the pair of bills are outlined below:
The contradictory approaches are not much of a surprise. In the months leading up to the 2025 session, Reeves publicly voiced his support for the House’s stance, primarily a total cut of income tax, and has continued to do so. Conversely, Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, president of the Senate, said he wanted to prioritize a slash of the grocery tax instead.
This isn’t the first time the two chambers have clashed on tax reform in recent memory. In 2022, then-House Speaker Philip Gunn urged lawmakers in the Senate to join his chamber in passing a bill to eliminate income tax. Hosemann, who was in his third year presiding over the Senate, wouldn’t budge.
But after a late full-court press by Reeves asking lawmakers to at least find a compromise to cut taxes, a bill was eventually sent to his desk and signed to annually phase down income tax until it hits 4% by 2026.
Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, isn’t concerned about the ideological separation this time around. In fact, he believes his fellow senators want to