Gov. Lee noncommittal on grocery tax cut

 By Kim Jarrett, The Center Square, Feb 13, 2025 - Bills by Democrats and Republicans that would cut the state's grocery tax are moving through the Tennessee General Assembly, but Gov. Bill Lee didn't mention the legislation in his State of the State address.

"Thousands of bills have been filed in this session, and there’s still a long way to go in the legislative process," a spokeswoman for Lee said in response to a question from The Center Square. "As with any legislation, the governor will review final bill language when it reaches his desk."

Sen. Charlane Oliver and Rep. Aftyn Behn, Democrats from Nashville, were the first to introduce bills that would remove the 4% sales tax on food and food ingredients. The bill has been assigned to Finance, Ways, and Means committees in both chambers.

Rep. Elaine Davis, R-Knoxville, also filed a bill to remove the sales tax on food. She said when introducing her bill would not raise taxes or cause local governments to lose revenue. Local governments would have the option to impose a grocery tax.

Davis' bill is in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee. A companion bill filed in the Senate by Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, has not been assigned to a committee.

The effort to remove the grocery tax failed last year. Lawmakers passed a bill that suspended the state's grocery tax for three months in 2023 that returned an estimated $272.8 million to the taxpayers.

Thirteen states tax groceries, but the number could dwindle. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has proposed eliminating the grocery tax in her state, according to a report. Kansas eliminated the sales tax on food on Jan. 1, according to a release from Gov. Laura Kelly.

Oklahoma eliminated the sales tax on food in 2024. The measure is returning $411 million to the taxpayers, lawmakers said.

Rod's Comment: I do not know if this is doable or not, but if it is, I hope it happens. Food is essential and something one cannot avoid. This would help the poor who are not poor enough for food stamps. It would help everyone, but food makes up a much larger share of the budget of low-income people.

Tennessee does not have an income tax for which I am thankful, but money has to come from somewhere. If they crunch the numbers, and this can work, I hope they do it. If not a full repeal, maybe the tax can be left on beer and soft drinks and bottled water and chips and candy and various non-essential foods and removed on things people need. As far as I am concerned, to partially make up for the lost revenue, they could increase the tax on lottery tickets and cigarettes. Increasing the tax on lottery tickets and cigarettes hits the poor hardest too, but I am okay taxing stupidity. Maybe there are other places the tax could be increased to make up for lost revenue too. I hope an effort is made to make this work. 

Top Stories