It would be nice not to have it but some other tax will go up. The people whom it may help will vote to raise taxes on someone else in the future. Grocery tax and fuel tax are both fair taxes.

I like the Texas system better, they have no grocery tax and higher property taxes. I would vote to swap the grocery tax with an increase in property tax. Property tax on my home is about $400, in Texas it would be $4000. Now you don't pay state income tax in Texas so you have that kicker.

I'd rather keep the grocery tax and keep property taxes low. That way the people that cost the state money get to share just a bit in paying for government.

I’m with metal on this one. If you don’t own property no big deal but if you do that’s another story. Just start knocking door to door to collect on these illegal aliens and auditing the people that are paying them under the table on the job sites.

Given the people you describe, they're using your tax dollars to pay for both their groceries AND the taxes on them.

I doubt they pay taxes on groceries if they're using food stamps.

I’d rather have zero property tax and higher taxes on goods and services. Property taxes equate to all of us being serfs paying the king for the right to dwell on the land.

Id rather have gas tax and a restaurant food tax, and a hotel tax, with no grocery store food tax and lower property tax.
Out of state travelers buy gas , eat at restaurants, and use hotels.
None of us when traveling pay attention to any of those things when we travel.
Id rather out of towners payed more for those and keep our property taxes low.

I'd rather do away with all the taxes we have now, and pay a 10% tax on everything we purchase.

Taxes are the most efficient way to keep people from being able to escape poverty. The last thing Democrats want is for people to be comfortable enough to think for themselves and taxes really help Democrats do that.

At least grocery tax makes (most) everyone have skin in the game. I guess the exception is EBT recipients.

The Alabama tax system is garbage. If you are a young couple just starting out you may have to rent for a couple years. I had to rent my first 2 years after I got married. 18 to 25 you need taxes low so they can get started, not rape them with high sales taxes and grocery taxes. Something like 98% of land in Texas is privately owned. They pay sky high property taxes but not state income tax or grocery tax. Their sales tax is also lower. You want to make sure Billy and Sue who just had a new born and Billy is working at the mill pulling doubles, let's make sure Billy has some skin in the tax game makes zero logical and moral sence to me.

As a former Texas resident, I disagree. I call it the Texas Wealth Tax. When my wife had to go on full time disability, we lost 40% of our income. Yet our property tax continued to increase every year. Some years the increase would be over $100 a month. With groceries, I have the option to eat steak or baloney. Even with the Alabama state income tax, I still come out ahead living here than if I had remained in Texas. Secondly, when you retire and your income drops, your property taxes are frozen at the current level. Again not indexed to income. So in Texas you would still pay $4000 a year, not the $400 in Alabama. In Alabama, my SS income is not taxed until I reach a certain thresh hold in 401k withdrawals, so my income tax liability will drop when I retire next year.

How about no Property or Grocery taxes and just a Flat tax on Income with no credits? Everybody pays the same thing proportionate to what they make. I'd love to see this go State and Federal. If you want to talk about fair, then I see no more fair way to do it. Of course, I know this is a pipe dream but tell me a better way? This is why I couldn't be a politician. I'd shake things up too much.

FYI, if you didn't already know, no one is going to call you and tell you this, but if your wife is on disability then y'all can be exempted from Alabama Property taxes on the house you live in.

I'm all about a flat (consumption) tax, but the number to make everything work is well above 10%...more like 22%. We already pay 10% on pretty much everything we purchase. Yeah, I know...they should be able to make it on 10%. But, that's not realistic.

Even at 22%, I would take it and run.

Consumption taxes also encourage saving money, something a lot of people have zero clue how to do.

Consumption tax is better. A lot of very wealthy people show very little income. People on welfare show zero income.

They all buy stuff, though.

You crazy.

How about neither tax. Both are theft.

It’s nearly impossible to quantify that. When you factor in vehicles being sold two or three times over its life and being taxed 10% each sale, it would probably come out somewhere higher than 22% of the original price. Much less, the 10% the manufacturer paid for all the components to assemble the vehicle.

Imagine if 10% of every transaction in the stock market was paid on the front end instead of when it was sold or not at all if it’s in some tax deferred account.