Latest news with #MississippiMusk
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Mississippi's moment': Gov Tate Reeves touts economic growth from eliminating income tax
EXCLUSIVE: Mississippi will be the 10th state to eliminate the state income tax, and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is celebrating the anticipated economic boom as "Mississippi's moment." "We are more competitive than we've ever been before. Lowering the tax on work, and ultimately, eliminating the tax on work, is going to make us even more competitive," Reeves told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. Reeves signed a bill into law in March to roll back Mississippi's state income tax from 4% to 3% by 2030, and eventually to zero. The Republican governor said eliminating the state income tax would "help level the playing field" and make Mississippi more competitive with neighboring states, such as Texas, Florida and Tennessee, who already have no income tax. "We have already seen the fruits of that with over $32 billion in new capital investment in Mississippi over the last four years. We had the lowest unemployment rate in our state's history last year. We had more people working last year than at any time in our state's history. We had, in 2024, the second-fastest growing economy in all of America last year. We had the fourth fastest-growing per capita income in all of America in 2024," Reeves said. Deep Red State Makes Major Announcement About Income Tax: 'We Plant Our Flag' While President Donald Trump's administration has floated tax hikes for millionaires to accomplish his ambitious budget agenda, which includes an extension of his 2017 tax cuts and no taxes on tips or Social Security, the Trump loyalist made his position on tax hikes clear in an interview with Fox News Digital. Read On The Fox News App 'Mississippi Musk': State Auditor's Moge Report Finds $400M In Government Waste "I oppose raising taxes on anybody," Reeves said when asked if he would support a small tax hike on millionaires. Reeves explained that his plan to eliminate Mississippi's income tax was devised to "reduce taxes on hardworking Mississippians" and "hardworking Americans." "We believe that the government ought to take less, so that individuals can keep more. And that's what we've tried to do in our state. We need more workers in our state. We need more income in our state, and I believe if you want more of something, you ought to tax it less," he added. 'Hard No': Millionaire Tax Hike Proposal Has House Republicans Divided While Reeves was unwilling to bend to Trump's potential tax hike, the Mississippi governor dismissed concerns over Trump's tariff policies. "There's no doubt that there are a lot of opinions about the Trump administration's approach to tariffs, but let me just tell you what our experience has been. Mississippi has had tremendous success in the last four to five years in growing our economy," Reeves said. He touted more than $75 billion in potential capital investments, claiming Mississippi's "deal flow is larger today than at any time in our state's history." Reeves said states like Mississippi are going to be "huge winners" under Trump's leadership as he seeks to return manufacturing to the United States. "We never gave up on manufacturing. We have been, for years, investing in training and retraining our workforce for a manufacturing boom, and I think we're fixing to see that here in the United States of America," Reeves said. As for the future of Mississippi's economy, Reeves said "it's going to continue to boom." Mississippi has also been leading state-level Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts, which the state auditor Shad White has jokingly called "MOGE." White released a compilation of audits last month that amounted to over $400 million in waste during his tenure. "During the time between 2012 and 2020, when I was lieutenant governor, we actually saw a reduction of total state employees from 33,000 down to almost 24,000, almost a 30 percent decline in the total number of employees, and yet, we're still providing the same level of government service. If that can be done in state government in Mississippi, it can be in every government, from the local level, to the state level, to Washington, D.C.," Reeves said. The Mississippi Republican added that Washington has a "spending problem," and applauded Elon Musk's efforts to cut government waste during Trump's first 100 days in office. "I would think every American would be for reducing the types of irrational spending that the Biden administration did in its final year," Reeves article source: 'Mississippi's moment': Gov Tate Reeves touts economic growth from eliminating income tax
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jackson, Mississippi, mayor facing federal bribery charges trails challenger in mayoral election results
The federally indicted mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, is trailing his opponent in the city's Democratic primary runoff. Unofficial vote totals show state Sen. John Horhn leading two-term Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba 18,493 to 6,246, according to the city clerk's office. Although absentee votes have not yet been counted, Horhn declared victory in the race. Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens II and Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks are facing charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud and money laundering, the Justice Department announced last November. All three have pleaded not guilty. An indictment alleged the three Democrats accepted payments, including $50,000 for the mayor's reelection campaign, from two people they thought were real estate developers looking to build a hotel near the city's downtown convention center. It turns out they worked for the FBI. 'Mississippi Musk': State Auditor's Moge Report Finds $400 Million In Government Waste "Residents have been, you know, told a narrative that should – that should give them every reason for us not to be here, right? And we're trying to make it clear that that's not who we are," Lumumba said Friday, according to the Associated Press. Read On The Fox News App Lumumba and Horhn faced off in a Democratic mayoral primary once before in 2017. In that race, Lumumba defeated Horhn outright, earning 55% of the vote. The winner of this race will advance to the June 3 general election. "People are ready for something different," Horhn recently said. "They are ready for change; they're ready for leadership; they're ready for better streets; they're ready for less crime; they're ready for more opportunities." Lumumba, son of the late Republic of New Afrika leader Chokwe Lumumba, released a video statement last year denying ever accepting a bribe and calling the indictment a "political prosecution" intended to "destroy [his] . . . reputation." Capital City Democratic Mayor, Prosecutor Indicted In Undercover Bribery Sting "Jackson residents, it is with great disappointment that I come before you. My legal team has informed me that federal prosecutors have, in fact, indicted me on bribery and related charges," he said. "There is no coincidence, and its timing being just before the upcoming mayoral race. My legal team will vigorously defend me against these charges. Again, while I am disappointed, I am not deterred, so I ask for your patience and your prayers during this process. Thank you." The three officials were in a bugged room on a yacht in Broward County, Florida, negotiating what they believed to be the developers' payments when they were caught, according to the local Mississippi Clarion-Ledger. One undercover agent reportedly asked the officials to move forward a deadline for an "SOQ," or statement of qualifications, required for the planned hotel development, and Lumumba reportedly went ahead and made a phone call. Another agent then handed the mayor five checks worth $50,000 total. After returning to Mississippi, the funds were reportedly deposited in the mayor's campaign account, according to the paper. Fox News Digitals' Charles Creitz and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Jackson, Mississippi, mayor facing federal bribery charges trails challenger in mayoral election results
