State Representative Michael Hale has filed legislation that would suspend Tennessee’s grocery sales tax for seniors age 65 and older for three months beginning July 1.
State Representative Michael Hale said seniors are struggling to cover basic expenses such as utilities, housing, insurance, and food amid continued inflation pressures. He said the bill mirrors a temporary grocery tax holiday lawmakers approved several years ago but narrows the benefit to those he believes need it most.
“What I wanted to do this year was to make sure that we at least try to help those that need it the most, the seniors that are on fixed income, that are struggling between utilities and rent and insurance, and then groceries,” Hale said, “These are people that have paid their debt, so to speak, and many of them now are trying to raise grandchildren, and any way that we can help those senior citizens is something we need to do.”
The legislation would exempt seniors from paying the grocery sales tax from July 1 through the end of September. Hale said the three-month window allows the budget impact to be absorbed early in the year.
Hale said the estimated fiscal impact of the bill is about $61 million, which he said reflects direct savings for senior citizens statewide over the three-month period. He said that amount can make a significant difference for households living on limited, fixed incomes.
“That’s $61 million that we would save senior citizens in the state of Tennessee over a three-month period,” Hale said. “To you and I, that may not seem like much, but to those seniors that are on fixed income, that 61 million dollars is huge.”
He said the impact on counties and cities would be relatively small when spread across local governments statewide. Hale said the larger effect would be on the state budget, which he believes can absorb the reduction.
Hale said, “It’s about a sixty million dollar cut in the state budget, but there are ways that we can give back to the people that need it the most. If we can afford to do grants and incentives in other areas, then we can afford to give sixty million dollars up in our state budget to help senior citizens.”
Hale said the State of the State address is expected to clarify how the proposal may fit into broader tax and spending plans.
“This is one of those opportunities as state government where we can say we can cut this tax for ninety days on this group of people,” Hale said. “I wish it was greater and I wish we could do more, but this is at least a help to people in our communities who are facing those situations every day.”