Legislators in Alabama voted Tuesday to eliminate the state sales tax on food and to completely remove diapers, infant formula, and menstruation products from the levy.
By a vote of 34-0, the Alabama Senate passed both proposals. Governor Kay Ivey will now have to sign the bills.
The food tax cut comes after MPs from both parties claimed that rising supermarket prices were hurting families.
If the cut is enacted, the state food sales tax will drop from 3% to 2% on September 1. In 2023, lawmakers lowered the tax from 4% to 3%. A further cut of 2% was anticipated, but it was contingent on unrealized budget growth.
Only a few states still impose taxes on groceries, including ours. We’re on the correct track and will eventually reach zero taxation. The bill’s proponent, Republican Representative Danny Garrett, stated, “This is big.”
The state will lose roughly $121 million a year in tax revenue that would have been used for the Education Trust Fund as a result of the cut.
The grocery tax belongs in the “dustbin of history,” according to the head of Alabama Arise, an advocacy organization that backs laws that benefit low-income families.
Alabama Arise Executive Director Robyn Hyden stated, “The grocery tax drives many families deeper into poverty, and Arise remains committed to the goal of eliminating it entirely.”
A bill that would exempt menstruation hygiene products, diapers, maternity clothes, and baby formula from state sales tax was also adopted by lawmakers.
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Additionally exempt would be bottles, breast pumps, and baby wipes. The state will lose roughly $13 million a year as a result of the 4% sales tax exemption.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Representative Neil Rafferty, posted on social media, “This is a big win for Alabama’s working families.”
