Mississippi Lifts Warehouse Taxes

The Mississippi legislature has begun considering ways to make the state more appealing to warehouse and shipping firms. The Magnolia State is one of only seven in the nation that allow local counties to impose a tax on goods produced for shipping out of state.
        New legislation would allow local boards of supervisors the discretion to impose the tax. Legislators noted many companies were shipping goods out of state, particularly to Memphis, to be warehoused. When goods are shipped out of state for transport or warehousing, jobs go with them.
        "It's a permissive bill," notes Lee County Administrator Ronnie Bell. "It doesn't require you to phase out the tax. The county could still have the option to leave the free port on or phase it out in terms of the assessed value of the county."
        Mississippi is also looking to improve its statewide highway program. The program, originally called Vision 21, was passed in 1987. The new $3.6 billion funding bill signed by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove will extend the state's four- lane highway program by two decades.
        The new funding will pay for three new road improvements in rural Hancock County, the site of the Stennis Space Center. The county has seen population growth of 35 percent in more than a decade. The new roads will fuel development near the Stennis Center, which according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) had a $4-million impact within a 50-mile radius in 2001. The estimated tax revenue impact from the center on the local government income is approximately $100 million.
        Jackson officials are hoping to capitalize on the $930-million Nissan plant being built north of the city in nearby Canton. Nissan officials say that four production suppliers have committed to move into the area creating an additional 1,000 jobs and bringing an investment of more than $110 million.
        Last summer Jackson officials announced the first tenant in the city's Tiger Jones Technology Park, opened several years ago with the goal of bringing high-tech and high paying jobs into the area. "It was designed to attract the caliber of company in manufacturing or distribution that would use a higher level of technology," says Larry Dooley, interim president of the Jackson-Madison County Chamber of Commerce.
        With the recent Nissan announcement, the park has landed its first tenant, Araco Corp., partnering with Johnson Controls to build a $30 million facility, which will produce automotive metal parts and will employ 100. Chicago-based UGN, another auto parts manufacturer, has also committed to space within the park. The firm will invest $15 million and hopes to employ more than 200 workers.

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