Editorial: Taxes for those at poverty level in Alabama embarrassing

Imagine that … the poor pay higher income taxes in Alabama than in any other state. Once again, Alabama is on top in an embarrassing statistic.

A study released Wednesday revealed that in Alabama, a family of three living at what is considered to be below the federal poverty level of $17,165 must pay $333 — the highest tax rate of its kind in the nation. And a family of four at the federal poverty line of $22,017? At $483, it too is the highest of its kind in America.

How are our state’s poor supposed to climb out of their financial hole and provide for their families when they are taxed to death?

This does not include the standard 4 percent tax on grocery items, which hurts the poor far more than it hurts the rich.

Dropping the tax on necessary grocery items was attempted, and failed in the Legislature.

After all, we are Alabama, and we must live up to our reputation.

“At the lowest incomes, we have some of the highest taxes in the nation because our system is upside down,” said Chris Sanders, policy analyst for the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project in Montgomery, which is funded by churches and other groups to speak out on behalf of Alabama’s poor.

Alabama Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Artur Davis also weighed in on the issue.

“The data released yesterday (Wednesday) is no shock if you know the unpleasant details of Alabama’s tax code: a state, whose leaders often brag about our “low tax” rates, actually takes the deepest tax bite in the country out of the pockets of low-wage working families,” he said in a statement.

“A mother in Greene County trying to raise three children on her own starts paying taxes at $9,800.

“A married couple in Bessemer who waits tables or pumps gas while they raise two children pays taxes beginning at $12,600. These rates are the most regressive in the entire country, and they are worsened by the fact that we are one of a couple of states who tax over-the-counter drugs and food.

“We owe this disgrace to our current 1901 Constitution—the same document that cuts large multinational corporations the most lenient property tax rates in the country.”

The revelation announced Wednesday is yet another black eye on our state, a state that could otherwise be a shining light.

This is just another example in a long line of problems that indicate we need tax reform and constitutional reform in Alabama.

Let’s quit talking about it and do something about it.