Miss. Gov. Signs Insurance Tax Credit, Trauma Care and Other Bills

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Mississippians will be eligible for income tax credits on some long-term health insurance premiums, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour.

The law says taxpayers can get credit for up to $500, or 25 percent, of “the premium costs paid during the taxable year for a qualified long-term care insurance policy.”

The credit cannot exceed the taxpayer’s tax liability and can’t be forwarded to the next year, said Kathy Waterbury, a spokesperson for the Mississippi State Tax Commission.

The bill, which Barbour signed March 15, would cover costs for the full calendar year of 2007, but can’t be used for 2006 taxes.

“The bill specifies that it’s not just for their own long-term care, it could be for their child, a spouse, parent or the individual’s independents,” Waterbury said.

But “they cannot take a premium paid by someone else,” she said.

Waterbury said there are so many variables in tax filings that it’s difficult to say exactly how much money the tax credit will save an average Mississippi family, but it will help their bottom line.

Barbour also signed a bill to create a 13-member task force to study trauma and burn care in Mississippi. The group will be made up of physicians, hospital administrators, members of the state House and Senate, a recipient of trauma care and others.

The group would determine the efficiency and funding requirements needed for better trauma care in the state and report back to the Legislature with its findings.

Barbour also signed a bill that will allow workers compensation benefits to be paid using new actuarial tables.