Charlie Williams speaks Tuesday. (Jon Giffin The Vicksburg Post)

[1/26/05] Charlie Williams, Gov. Haley Barbour’s chief of staff, delivered an anti-tax message at the Vicksburg Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet.

Williams, a former state representative from Senatobia, substituted for scheduled speaker First Lady Marsha Barbour, who was ill. Williams did read remarks Mrs. Barbour had prepared for the event at the Vicksburg Convention Center. They reiterated her husband’s stance against raising taxes to overcome the gap some have projected at $1 billion between the state’s income and budget needs in the year ahead.

“Haley said we don’t need higher taxes, we need more taxpayers, more taxable income,” said Williams, reading Marsha Barbour’s words.

“Haley says we didn’t get into the worst budget mess in state history by taxing too little. We did it by spending too much,” he said.

The total budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, is expected to be $3.8 billion. Increases in sales taxes, income taxes, assorted fees have been considered. On an initial vote, the House rejected a $1 per-pack increase in cigarette taxes.

Through Williams, Mrs. Barbour also praised the working relationship between the Mississippi congressional delegation and the governor.

“Hardly any other state has a governor and a delegation that work together so well,” Williams said.

The chief of staff added his own remarks on taxation after he finished reading the first lady’s speech.

He cautioned against falling into the “tax trap” that Tennessee did by raising taxes without enacting measures to control spending. He pointed out that Tennessee was forced to make painful cuts in TennCare, the state’s medical program for the needy, because of profligate spending.

“Raising taxes is the easy way out,” Williams said.

“Long after the state government’s deficit is gone, the people will still be paying those additional taxes,” he said.

He suggested government bureaucracy and perks should be trimmed before raising taxes.

“If you believe that we must raise taxes, then you believe that state government is being run efficiently,” Williams said.

Mississippi has one of the larger ratios of state government workers per capita and a high percentage of state-owned vehicles per capita, Williams said.

During the banquet, outgoing chamber president Cheryl Comans, who works for Entergy, said Mike Smith, owner of Staffing Solutions Ltd., will be the new president.

Smith, a native of Chicago, said he was up to challenge.

“I’m not from here originally, but love this community and want to see it prosper,” Smith said.