Normal thinking after such landmark legislation is to just leave it at that and send the proposal to Senate for consideration. Trey Lamar (R-Senatobia), House Ways and Means Chairman, requested that the bill’s vote be rescheduled. What’s the deal? The victory was huge for the speaker and his team. Why would they call the bill up to further consideration to give people who voted in favor of it the previous day the chance to vote against it? Lamar shared his good news with the members. After further research, he said that the state could reduce the tax on car tags by half the amount of the original bill’s 35%. Twelve members of the 122-member House voted against the bill when it was first considered. Only four of the 122-member House members voted against the bill after the good news regarding car tags was included to the bill’s second consideration. All Democrats except for one voted against it. “It’s hard to vote against car tag reduction,” said Rep. Bryant Clark (D-Pickens), who voted in favor of the proposal twice, but opposed previous tax cuts offered by Republicans. John Hines (D-Greenville), another Democrat, said that Washington County’s biggest complaint is about the cost of car tags. He has also opposed tax cuts in the past. It is a hard fact that tax cuts can be passed by legislative Republicans without the support of Democrats (which requires a 60% supermajority). Some wondered why Democrats didn’t at least fight for the tax cut after last week’s vote. READ MORE: Gunn’s signature plan to eliminate income taxes and reduce food taxes. In the past, Democrats opposed attempts to phase out income tax like Gunn’s proposal. This is because it also increased sales tax. The sales tax is generally considered a regressive tax that places more burdens on the poor. Gunn’s proposal this year increases the retail sales tax from 7% to 8.5%. This is more acceptable to many Democrats than his unsuccessful proposal last year, which increased the sales taxes by 9.5%. Both this year and last year, Gunn’s proposal also has included the popular-among-Democrats proposal to reduce the sales tax on groceries. The proposal this year reduces the grocery sales tax from 7% to 4%. The biggest change that Democrats noticed this year was the decrease in the car tag fee, which is notoriously high here in Mississippi. Another objection to tax cuts is that the state has too many taxes to reduce. Legislators might not be as likely to accept this argument, since the state has a surplus of over $2 billion due to unprecedented revenue growth of 15.9% in the previous fiscal year and double-digit growth expected for the current fiscal year. This growth isn’t just Mississippi. Due to a record federal infusion of funds to states to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and strong wage growth, many states are seeing strong revenue growth. Inflation means that people pay more for their products. This results in higher sales taxes being collected. In a recent release, the respected Pew Charitable Trust stated that lawmakers should think about the long-term consequences of any decisions they make, such as whether they will increase public programs, raise salaries, cut taxes or take other measures to reduce costs. “While state coffers may appear full right now, this won’t last forever. States face many challenges, including rising costs, shrinking revenue streams and emerging risks like advanced technologies or aging populations. ” However, Mississippi still faces issues such as underfunded schools, low salaries for state employees, and insufficient health care access. Many feel that the state Legislature should do more to help the Public Employees Retirement System (which is legally bound to provide pension benefits to teachers, state employees, and local government employees) financially. Gunn and Gov. Tate Reeves, and Lt. Gov. All three of Delbert Hosemann’s supporters have voiced their support for tax cuts in varying degrees. As legislators consider tax cuts, they might also think about the long-term impact on the state’s ability to meet its needs. It is hard to imagine a part of the tax cut package that does not include a decrease in car tag prices. READ MORE: Hosemann does not like Gunn’s tax proposal. Are we in danger of Capitol gridlock?