Removing Sales Tax on Groceries on House Floor Today
A bill to remove the state portion (4%) of sales tax on groceries is coming before the House today. It could also come before the Senate as early as today.
The Birmingham News calls it a “a much-needed plan to make Alabama’s tax system more fair” that “can take a significant step toward making our tax system less of an embarrassment and less of a drain on our state’s poorest people.”
Studies have found the poorest 20 percent of Alabamians (who made under $13,000 a year) paid 10.6 percent of their incomes in state taxes, compared to 3.8 percent for the top 1 percent of taxpayers (whose annual earnings approached $700,000).
That’s not fair. Somebody needs to be paying less, and yes, somebody needs to be paying more.
Alabama has the lowest taxes in the nation and still shifts a disproportionate burden onto those in poverty.
The House is expected to debate a proposal from state Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, that would flat out remove the state sales tax on groceries and cut state income taxes for poorer Alabamians. To make up for the state’s lost income, Knight’s plan would end Alabama taxpayers’ deduction for federal income taxes, increasing the amount paid by the wealthier among us.
By Knight’s estimation, 80 percent of Alabamians will either save money or break even under his plan. Even families with incomes as high as $125,000 will come out to the good, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office.
The bill would ultimately require a statewide vote of the people for passage.
Earlier in the session, the Press-Register called our high taxes on the poor “morally indefensible.”
ALABAMA is a low-tax state that imposes some of the highest taxes in the nation on the poor.
State lawmakers are content to live with this morally indefensible dichotomy. It’s either that or they’re too cowardly to risk any political capital trying to overhaul the state’s wildly unbalanced and wholly unreliable tax system.
The Huntsville Times called this bill “perhaps the most important proposal to come before it in many years,” and has noted that Alabama is “the only state with a sales tax so harsh on a family’s weekly food bill.”
Even the University of Alabama paper The Crimson White gets in on the act and writes, “we cannot ask, due to fundamental principles of fairness and equity, for the poorest in our state to continue to bear this weight on the necessities of life.”
FWIW, other papers are talking about it: Montgomery Advertiser, Decatur Daily, Tuscaloosa News, Daily Home, Anniston Star, Gadsden Times, and Times Daily.
We had a chance to correct our regressive tax issues through Amendment One yet some politicos in Alabama still run around talking about how great they are for doing everything in their power to stop it.
Comment by JohnJohn — April 15, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1.The sixth would pay $3.The seventh would pay $7.The eighth would pay $12.The ninth would pay $18.The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.” Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so: The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20, “declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,” but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I got”
“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
Comment by Therm — April 15, 2008 @ 11:40 am
I’m with you, but this is not Ammendment One; it’s even more obvious than that. Surely, we can get this one passed.
Comment by SamfordDem — April 15, 2008 @ 11:41 am
I finally agree with SamfordDem!
Comment by GOPer — April 15, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
Yes, take the tax off groceries, but don’t put it on someone elses back.
Comment by JD — April 15, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
[…] The House bill on grocery sales tax that was mentioned in this morning’s post passed 63-38 this afternoon. If it passes the Senate, it will go to a vote of the people in November. […]
Pingback by HB 274 Passes » Doc’s Political Parlor — April 15, 2008 @ 4:04 pm
[…] Rep. John Knight has offered a proposal (HB 274) that would remove the state portion of sales tax on groceries (4%) and offers other tax breaks for all Alabama tax filers, and would remove the state income tax deduction for federal income tax paid. General details are here and specifics are here. […]
Pingback by Alabama Tax Burden Illustrated » Doc’s Political Parlor — April 29, 2008 @ 10:36 am
[…] Doc’s Political Parlor: Removing Sales Tax on Groceries on House Floor Today […]
Pingback by Reforming Alabama’s Tax System « Very Important Stuff — May 27, 2008 @ 9:42 am