Grocery Tax Reduction included In Package of Tax Bills Introduced in Alabama’s State Legislature

A package of four bills focusing on tax cuts have been introduced in the Alabama Legislature by House Education Budget Chairman Danny Garrett. Of these measures, House Bill 386 would reduce the state’s grocery tax from 3% to 2% on September 1 and would cut $121.9 million in taxes. House Bill 387 would remove restrictions on local government taxation of food and authorizes the ability to lower sales taxes on groceries through ordinance or resolution. House Bill 388 would increase the state’s income tax exemptions for those 65 and older through withdrawals from and IRA or 401K, while House Bill 389 would increase the standard deduction for individuals making $60,000 or less, respectively. The total tax cuts for these measures would result in $192 million if enacted. In a news release, Garret said, “While I am proud that Alabama’s taxes are consistently among the lowest in the nation, there are still commonsense, conservative measures we can take to put more money back into the pockets of hardworking Alabamians. Including the previous cut in the grocery tax, these tax cuts will save Alabama families approximately $314.6 million per year.”