Panel approves plan to end Alabama tax on food
Senate committee approves plan to phase out Alabama tax on food
Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, is pictured during a meeting of the Senate Health Committee at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., Wednesday, April 17, 2013. The Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee voted unanimously Wednesday for the bill by Dial that would reduce the tax on groceries by one cent each year for four years. It would also raise the tax on other purchases by one-fourth of cent each year until it reached five cents on the dollar. Dial said that would keep the state's total tax collections relatively even. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama Senate committee has approved a bill to phase out the state sales tax on groceries and increase the sales tax on other purchases.
The Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee voted unanimously Wednesday for the bill by Republican Sen. Gerald Dial of Lineville. The state's sales tax is four cents per dollar. Dial's bill would reduce the tax on groceries by one cent each year for four years. It would also raise the tax on other purchases by one-fourth of cent each year until it reached five cents on the dollar. Dial said that would keep the state's total tax collections relatively even.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where other bills to get rid of the sales tax on groceries have died in previous sessions.
