Rep. Chester Masterson, R-Vicksburg, was one of 26 Republicans and four Democrats to vote against a bill to phase out taxes on groceries and increase them on cigarettes.

&#8220I’m for the grocery-tax reduction, but my concern is that it’s going to hurt the smaller municipalities,” said Masterson, in his third term as the junior representative from Warren County. &#8220They might lose whatever tax base they have.”

Masterson, a 72-year-old retired physician, also represents Sharkey and Issaquena counties in the Legislature.

The bill would shave 2 1/2 percentage points off the grocery tax on July 1, 1 percentage point a year later and one-half of a percentage point each July 1 after that until the tax disappears in 2014.

&#8220On the Coast, where they have no ad valorum taxes, they depend on that sales tax. This is not the time to decrease taxes,” he said.

The other representatives from Vicksburg, Rep. George Flaggs, a Democrat, and Sen. Mike Chaney, a Republican, both voted for the legislation.

The City of Vicksburg in 2005 saw gross sales of $104.8 million in taxed grocery items, said Paul Rogers, the city’s strategic planner. In turn, he said, the city collected $1.4 million in taxes on those sales.

Mississippi is one of 17 states that tax groceries, charging 7 percent on food, just as it does on most other retail items.

The legislation voted on late Wednesday in the House remains there today, on a procedural motion that could allow more debate, but it’s expected to move to Gov. Haley Barbour’s desk in the next few days.

Republican Barbour said in his State of the State address Monday that he opposes both parts of the bill. He said he’s against any tax increase and he thinks the timing is wrong for a grocery-tax reduction because of economic uncertainties caused by Hurricane Katrina.