More Mississippians would prefer not to pay the 7% sales tax on groceries than not to pay the state income tax, according to a recent poll from Mississippi Today/Siena College. The poll, conducted Jan. 3-8, found 68% of respondents favor suspending the grocery tax, while 24% oppose ending the grocery tax. “The cost of food is high enough already,” Hinds County resident and poll respondent Lucinda Robinson told Mississippi Today. “We need some relief.” Robinson said she does not believe it is right to tax necessities like food and milk. “Eggs are so expensive that I just eat the chicken,” she said. Mississippi’s 7% tax on most retail items is one of the nation’s highest. In addition, most states either have a lower sales tax on groceries than on other items, or they just exempt groceries from being taxed altogether. Mississippi levies the full 7% on groceries.