After an election supposedly about grocery prices, Gov. Bill Lee and Republican lawmakers are laughing at Tennessee families struggling with among the highest grocery taxes in the country.
In 2025, like they did in 2024, Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, and Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, proposed ending the grocery tax without sacrificing state and local services; they would have achieved this by closing corporate tax loopholes. But the measure did not get a vote prior to the end of the Tennessee General Assembly session on April 22.
In 2024, instead of cutting grocery taxes, Republicans passed an unprecedented corporate giveaway, refunding up to three years of franchise taxes already paid by corporations, in addition to a $400 million recurring tax break.
So far, more than $1.2 billion has been refunded to over 47,000 businesses.
GOP treated grocery tax repeal like a joke
Much was made of Republicans introducing their own grocery tax repeal this year, but despite that bill, Governor Lee’s budget again did not include any relief for families.
Perhaps that is because unlike Representative Behn and Senator Oliver’s bill (House Bill 2/Senate Bill 2), the Republican proposal (House Bill 21/Senate Bill 1367) was, in fact, a joke.
In the Senate, committee Chairman Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, even referred to Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson,’s proposal to end grocery taxes as a "pipe dream," and everyone had a good chuckle.
It’s hard to see the humor in a population that cannot afford to eat properly.
Then they introduced a bill they have no intention of passing just to get some positive headlines and make Tennesseans think they cared.
And then they laughed about it, on camera, because they think you aren’t paying attention. They are laughing at Tennessee families struggling while they give away billions to their corporate donors.
Tennessee families struggle to pay the bills and put food on the table
We are told Tennessee is a low tax state, but in reality it is only a low tax state for big corporations. The Economic Policy Institute reports that more than 60% of companies filing in Tennessee pay zero in the state corporate income tax. That includes 24% of companies that report over $1 billion in revenue to the federal government, according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue as reported by Tennessee Senate Democrats.
One reason could be that Tennessee is one of only 17 states that doesn’t require "combined reporting" for corporations, allowing them to exploit onshore and offshore loopholes. While corporations get a free ride, Tennessee families are punished by being one of only 10 states that tax groceries.
Mom was a Special Education teacher certified in five areas. Throughout her career, she taught children of all ages and in various schools. Like many of her fellow educators, she was deeply concerned about students who came to school hungry, knowing that proper nutrition is essential for learning. Many teachers, including Mom, often used their own money to stock snacks in the classroom to help meet their students’ basic needs.
According to the MIT Living Wage calculator, the wage needed for basic necessities like food, housing, transportation, etc., for an adult with no children in Tennessee is $45,735, but according to the Census the per capita income for that person in Tennessee is $37,866.
For a family with two children where both parents work, the income needed for necessities increases to $84,229, but the Census median household income is $67,097 −a more than $17,000 deficit. That means that more than half of the people in our state − or more than 3.5 million people − are struggling, including many two-income households.
None of the numerous corporate tax breaks over the past decade at the state and federal level have helped Tennessee families, nor did the $500 million in state money spent on a new Titans stadium.
What have Tennessee families gotten? Retaliation against cities and towns who try to be responsive to the needs of their residents, an all-out assault on our public schools, and relentless bullying of vulnerable communities. We deserve better. We must join together across our differences, and demand better.
Diane Moore is a retired Chattanooga city worker and TN4All volunteer.
