Alabama’s grocery sale tax may be cut in half under bill approved by the state House

The Alabama House of Representatives has approved a bill that would cut sale tax on groceries from 4% to 2%.The measure received broad bipartisan support in Alabama this year in the face of soaring food prices and a rare budget surplus.Previous attempts to pass similar measures were struck down in Alabama as the 4% tax provided more than $600 million of education funding.

Alabama lawmakers on Thursday advanced legislation to remove half of the state’s 4% sale tax on groceries, a proposal that garnered broad bipartisan support in the face of soaring food prices.

The House of Representatives voted 103-0 for the legislation that would gradually remove the tax by one percentage point a year, provided there is enough growth in tax collections to offset the revenue loss, until the tax drops to 2%. The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate, where all senators have signed on in support of similar legislation.

Alabama is one of only three states that tax groceries at the same rate as other purchases. Some lawmakers, mostly Democrats, had for decades unsuccessfully pushed for the removal. But the measure gained bipartisan traction this year in the face of rare budget surplus and consumer frustration over rising food

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