A bill making its way through the Mississippi legislature would re-structure the state’s credits and incentives program for businesses.
Among the changes: businesses would receive credits based on jobs created, not promised; and any business qualifying for the program would have to provide health insurance to employees and produce a public annual report.
The bill passed the Senate in mid-February. It now sits in the House, where it’s expected to be reworked and passed.
More details from US News:
Senators voted unanimously Thursday to pass Senate Bill 2822, the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive Act, also called MFLEX.
Republican Sen. David Parker of Olive Branch said the goal is to simplify state incentives, based on how many jobs a business creates and the types of wages and benefits they provide. The MFLEX proposal would require companies that receive incentives to provide health insurance for their employees. Those offering higher salaries would get more favorable treatment from the state.
Parker also said any business receiving tax credits would be required to file an annual report to the state, providing accountability to the public. He said incentives would be awarded based on the number of jobs created, not the number of jobs promised. For example, he said if a company says it has a goal of creating 50 jobs but creates 45, the incentives would be adjusted.
“This will be very easy for you to explain, as a senator, to someone who is considering moving into your area,” Parker said. “Whereas now, the application process for the multiple incentives we have are hundreds and hundreds of pages that are — it’s a lot of legalese, it’s a lot of difficult paperwork to kind of navigate.”
