Member-only story
My Highest-Earning NewsBreak Story in November was About Taxing Groceries
Yes, some states tax groceries — and yes, it’s gross
Taxing groceries is regressive. It hurts those least able to pay. Everyone buys groceries, but for those at the lower end of the income spectrum, groceries take up a larger portion of overall income.
In states like Tennessee, with no income tax, sales taxes make up a significant portion of the state’s budget. Local governments derive revenue from property taxes (and some sales tax) but state revenue is based on sales taxes and corporate taxes.
Tennessee used to have a tax on investment income but did away with that in recent years.
Now, there’s a movement among some in the Tennessee General Assembly to end the state’s grocery tax.
And reporting on that was my top story over at NewsBreak last month.
Rep. Aftyn Behn’s bill to end the state’s grocery tax was the second bill filed for the 2025 legislative session.
Tennessee gave $500 million to the Titans football team to help fund the largest public investment in a stadium project in U.S. history.
The state also provided $1.6 billion in corporate tax breaks in the 2023 and 2024 sessions.
Now, Behn wants to see Tennessee families share the wealth — even possibly shifting the revenue burden back to corporations to pay for it.
