The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill to make Name, Image and Likeness earnings free from the state’s income tax last week, a vote that follows the example set by several other states that house SEC and other Power 4 conference member schools.
HB 4014 is an amendment to the Mississippi Code of 1972 to revise the definition of the term “Gross Income” under state income-tax law to exclude NIL compensation.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State join Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas in pitching NIL opportunities outside of state taxation to prospective recruits.
The provision to the state tax code was proposed by Republican Representative Trey Lamar, who framed the proposal with the example of rival schools in mind.
The bill prompted heated debate, with criticism from members of both major parties, but it passed the chamber to move on to the Senate.
The state legislature approved a plan in 2025 to phase out personal state income tax by 2030, starting with a gradual drop in the flat tax rate from 4.4% to 3%, which was signed by Governor Tate Reeves last year.
Florida, Tennessee and Texas are the only states with SEC schools that have no state income tax.
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