Politics
Tennessee governor hopefuls split on ending 4% tax on groceries
Three of four leading candidates say they would eliminate Tennessee’s 4% state grocery tax, a change they estimate would cost about $800 million a year. They differ on how to replace the revenue, while Republican Marsha Blackburn emphasized cutting government spending but did not commit to ending the tax.
Three of the four candidates polling above 1% in Tennessee’s governor’s race say they would eliminate the state’s 4% sales tax on groceries, putting the cost and funding of a tax cut at the center of a debate over who bears the state’s tax burden.
Democrat Jerri Green and independent candidates Lauren Pinkston and David Hatley all support ending the tax. Each said the change would cost roughly $800 million annually. Republican nominee and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn did not give a direct yes-or-no answer, saying she would seek ways to remove taxes and would first reduce the size of state government.
Tennessee is among 12 states that still tax groceries. The state has no personal income tax and relies heavily on sales taxes. More than half of corporations operating in Tennessee pay no state income tax, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan think tank ThinkTennessee. Corporate taxes accounted for about 4.4% of state revenue in August 2026.
Green said she would shift more of the tax burden to corporations and wealthy people. She also argued that low- and middle-income families feel the grocery tax especially sharply amid high living costs. Green estimated the state leaves $43 billion to $57 billion a year in potential revenue on the table from corporations that pay little or no taxes.
Pinkston proposed closing tax loopholes that allow affiliated companies to shift profits out of state, and scaling back incentives for large corporations. She said the state could use the revenue to help pay for ending the grocery tax, while arguing that major developments such as data centers should contribute toward the roads, water systems and power infrastructure they use. Pinkston also said shoppers in border counties may take their business to neighboring states where groceries cost less.
Hatley said he would eliminate the grocery tax and cover the cost by reducing waste in the state’s $59 billion budget. He also criticized corporate tax abatements and said he would reconsider incentives for projects such as data centers.
The candidates also addressed whether families pay a greater share of their income in taxes than businesses. Green, Pinkston and Hatley said the system is unfair. Pinkston cited an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis that found Tennessee’s lowest-income families pay more than three times the share of their income in state and local taxes as the wealthiest 1%.
Hatley focused as well on property taxes, saying residential property owners’ taxes rose 22% from 2019 to 2023, compared with 5.1% for businesses. He proposed limiting annual property-tax increases to 5% unless voters approve a higher increase, along with more predictable assessments and a constitutional homestead protection.
Blackburn did not respond to questions about closing corporate tax loopholes or whether families should pay proportionally more than businesses. On the grocery tax, she cited her opposition to a state income tax and said she would pursue government cuts, property-tax relief for seniors and first-time homebuyers, and opportunities to remove taxes.
The debate turns on a basic trade-off for the next governor: ending a tax paid at the grocery checkout would put money back in household budgets, but would also require replacing hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenue or reducing spending.