{"id":155000,"date":"2026-01-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=155000"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:27:12","slug":"dana-criswell-raise-taxes-on-guns-ms-hb145","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/dana-criswell-raise-taxes-on-guns-ms-hb145\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana Criswell: “Raise Taxes on Guns – MS HB145”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Category: Dumb Bills By Dumb Politicians<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
HB145:<\/strong> This bill raises multiple sales and excise tax rates on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, certain recreational vehicles, alcohol, cigarettes and other tobacco\/vapor products and dedicates the new revenue to a permanent state fund subsidizing hospitals\u2019 uncompensated care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full Analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vote Statement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A vote against this bill is a vote to reject multiple targeted tax hikes on consumers and gun owners and to oppose a new permanent hospital subsidy funded by higher consumption taxes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raises the sales tax rate from the general 7% to 8% on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, motorcycles, ATVs and jet skis starting July 1, 2026.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Increases the retail sales tax rate on alcoholic beverages from 7% to 8%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Broadens and increases excise taxes on cigarettes, other tobacco, and newly defined vapor products, and dedicates all incremental tax revenue to a new Mississippi Hospitals Uncompensated Care Assistance Fund in the state treasury.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Liberty Analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Viewed through a limited\u2011government, free\u2011market lens, HB145 is primarily a multi\u2011pronged tax\u2011increase and spending\u2011earmark bill. It raises consumption taxes on several categories of goods\u2014firearms and ammunition, archery equipment, motorcycles, ATVs, jet skis, alcohol, and tobacco\/vapor products\u2014and dedicates the incremental revenue to a new state\u2011run hospital uncompensated care fund. That combination directly conflicts with a preference for lower, simpler, broad\u2011based taxes and smaller, less centralized state spending. Rather than broad tax relief or structural health\u2011care reform, it uses selective tax penalties to expand a permanent subsidy stream for hospitals.
Economically, the bill increases the overall tax burden on consumers, including many middle\u2011 and working\u2011class residents who purchase these legal products. Excise and targeted sales taxes are among the most distortionary and regressive types of taxation. They pick winners and losers in the marketplace and encourage more political engineering of what citizens \u201cshould\u201d or \u201cshouldn\u2019t\u201d buy. The creation of the Mississippi Hospitals Uncompensated Care Assistance Fund, administered by the Department of Health, shifts more health\u2011care financing into a tax\u2011funded government channel. That entrenches dependence on ongoing state revenue, rather than incentivizing competitive pricing, charity care, direct\u2011care models, or private insurance solutions. From a sound\u2011money and fiscal\u2011responsibility perspective, dedicated revenue streams for specific spending constituencies are politically hard to unwind and contribute to long\u2011run government growth.
From a civil\u2011liberties and property\u2011rights standpoint, the bill does not overtly adjust due process, surveillance, or policing powers. However, specifically increasing taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment does amount to a financial penalty on the exercise of a core constitutional right and normal sporting activities. Using the tax code to discourage lawful gun ownership is inconsistent with both limited government and respect for individual rights. More broadly, the bill reinforces a pattern where perceived social or health problems trigger new government revenue schemes instead of deregulation and decentralization. The cumulative effect is more centralized control of resources, more reliance on state\u2011managed transfer programs, and less space for voluntary, market\u2011based solutions in health care and consumer choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg?resize=25%2C16\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Dana-Criswell.jpg?resize=640%2C214\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n