Reeves, a Republican, proposed eliminating the state’s income taxes. This tax accounts for over 30% of state general funds revenue and is worth approximately $1.90 billion each year. Reeves spent his first year in office as governor being bullied and reacted to legislative leaders’ actions. This included their historic decision to replace the state flag, which had the Confederate battle emblem, with a 126-year-old design. In his budget plan, the governor made clear that he will be the hammer, not the nail, in the 2021 session. From a strategic perspective, he may have chosen a good issue to base his effort. From a policy perspective, there’s nothing a Republican politician loves more than a tax cut. And especially, an income tax cut. If they stick together, Republicans still have the required three-fifths majority in each chamber to pass tax cuts. The ongoing pandemic has cast doubt on the state’s economic outlook and the revenue available to fund vital services. However, Reeves believes that the time is right to pass a major tax reduction. Reeves stated that the state must think big …”. What can we do to make a big splash? Reeves stated that removing the income tax would encourage this growth. Philip Gunn (R-Clinton), House Speaker, has been a longtime advocate for lowering the income tax. In fact, the former-Lt. Governor. Reeves was the Senate’s presiding officer and he blocked attempts by the House leaders to eliminate the income tax. Gunn advocated that the state should rely on excise and use taxes to finance state government. Mississippi is the nation’s poorest state. It relies on both a modest income tax and a 7% retail sales tax to generate most of its revenue. The former Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood lost to Reeves during the 2019 gubernatorial election. He proposed that the 7% grocery sales tax be reduced. This is the most high-taxed state tax in the country and falls heavily on the poor. Since years, both Democrats and Republicans have tried to reduce the food tax. According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy in 2018, Mississippi was the 24th most regressive state tax structure. Regressive taxes impose a greater burden on the poor. The income tax, which is a progressive tax that requires wealthy people to pay more, could be eliminated. This would increase the tax burden on the poor. Reeves believes that the income tax could be eliminated gradually without the need to raise other taxes in order to make up the revenue loss. He argues that the income tax reduction would lead to growth in other revenue sources. Others argue that taxes should not be cut because there are so many needs. The current fiscal year has seen a significant underfunding of education from kindergarten through 12th grades. Most people agree that this will continue to be the case in the next fiscal year. The state is facing multiple challenges when it comes to providing health care for the poor and community colleges as well as universities. Both Reeves, and the Lieutenant Governor, made their 2019 campaign promises. Delbert Hosemann stated that a multi-year raise in teacher salaries to bring them to the Southeastern average was a top priority. Due to the uncertainty created by the pandemic, a pay increase that was scheduled for 2020 was cancelled. Reeves didn’t make a teacher raise part of the priority list released last week. However, a spokesperson later stated that the governor believed there would still be enough money to pay a raise while reducing taxes. He did however mention that teachers often tell him when he presented his budget, “I didn’t get into teaching because I wanted to make a living.” Reeves stated that he didn’t get into teaching because he wanted to make his community better. However, he might struggle to convince legislators to impose a huge tax cut during the 2021 session. This session begins in January and ends in February. He could be the next nail in this scenario.