Editorial: Bridges' grocery tax plan worthy of consideration

By: Editorial | Opelika Auburn News
Published: April 10, 2009

Any plan to repeal the 4 percent grocery tax is worth considering. This newspaper strongly endorsed the bill repeatedly presented by Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, and defeated in the Legislature. There’s no reason why folks shouldn’t give DuWayne Bridges’ proposal a long, hard look.

Bridges, R-Valley, proposed a plan where a “grocery tax credit” would be given to families living below the federal poverty level.

Extra income tax refunds would range from $75 per person or $300 for a family of four in households that have an annual adjusted gross income of $15,000 or less.

For annual incomes of $15,000 to $22,000, the figures decrease to $65 per person or $260 for a family of four.

Alabama Arise, an advocacy group for the poor, estimated that a family of four in Alabama pays in excess of $460 per year in grocery taxes.

Bridges’ plan doesn’t match that, but it offers something rather than nothing.

The move can also be viewed as good political strategy for Bridges, who voted against previous grocery tax repeals. Bridges’ home county, Chambers, holds the state’s highest unemployment rate of 18.9 percent.

Coming out with a perceived plan of his own could sooth the ire of constituents angered by Bridges shunning Knight’s proposal.

Neighboring Georgia does not have a grocery tax, but that could change. Georgia Republicans are considering a similar plan where families will receive grocery tax credits based on income and family members. The proposed grocery tax rate … 4 percent.

The argument many have made against the grocery tax is it essentially taxes the poor. Granted, anyone who purchases groceries must pay the same flat rate, but that rate affects people differently depending upon their economic situation. A man making $200,000 annually isn’t nearly as affected as the man making $10,000.

The way it stands now, the 4 percent grocery tax remains. If legislators do not adopt what can be considered by some as a compromise plan by the GOP, poor families in Alabama will not get a tax credit and will continue to suffer when life’s basic necessities are purchased at their local market.

This isn’t a time for an all-or-nothing macho mentality in the state house. Bridges’ plan to compromise deserves consideration.