Marsha Blackburn wants Tennessee to stay a low-tax, low-regulation state. Jerri Green wants government to do more for workers and families without raising taxes. Lauren Pinkston mixes tax relief with targeted investment and new costs for some developers. The real argument is not whether Tennesseans should prosper. It is who should pay for the government each plan requires.
Nashville, Tenn – Tennessee enters this governor’s race with an unusual economic structure.
The state does not tax earned personal income, and the Tennessee Constitution prohibits state or local taxes on payroll or earned personal income. Instead, Tennessee relies heavily on consumption taxes: the Department of Revenue says sales taxes account for about 60% of state tax collections. The general state sales-tax rate is 7%, while qualifying food is taxed at 4% before applicable local sales taxes.
Tennessee also has no state minimum-wage law, meaning most covered workers fall under the federal $7.25 hourly floor.
Those facts set the boundaries for the economic plans offered by Marsha Blackburn, Jerri Green and Lauren Pinkston.
Blackburn: Keep taxes low and government smaller
Blackburn’s economic argument is the most traditional conservative model.
Her campaign says Tennessee should maintain low taxes, reduce regulations, cut unnecessary government spending, attract companies from outside the
