Editor’s Note: This is an opinion column.
By Paul DeMarco
Alabama State Representatives and Senators have a lot on their plate as they prepare for the upcoming session in March.
One difference this session that is unusual for the Alabama Legislature is that there will be sizable surpluses for the two state budgets. The education budget will have a $2 billion-plus addition, and the general fund will have more than $200 million of unexpected surplus monies.
Everyone will have their own ideas about where to allocate those dollars once lawmakers begin to debate how to spend them.
Alabama can look to other states for guidance. Income state cuts just took effect in nine states. The Arizona income tax was just reduced to a flat 2.5 percent rate. Iowa is also heading towards a flat tax and terminating the tax on retirement accounts. Both Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi and the newly elected Governor Sarah Huckabee of Arkansas are looking at completely phasing out their state’s income tax. Kansas and Virginia are lowering their taxes on groceries. However, if these states can make permanent tax cuts as opposed to just one-time rebates, so can Alabama.
No one should suggest that state leaders implement a permanent tax cut that would cripple government responsibilities; however, a reasonable tax cut that would help Alabama citizens hit hard by inflation would be appropriate.
There will be expected pushback from Montgomery insiders, bureaucrats, and the like, against returning any dollars back to taxpayers in the state. Despite the surpluses, there will always be those who want to keep every penny in the state capital to use as they see fit. Some of the same lobbyists who will say the money should be saved for future days when there is not much money to go around will be the same ones with their hands out. Thus, it is hard to take their opposition seriously, but they will have the ears of lawmakers who will be making the decisions. This makes it even more important now for Alabama citizens to remind their elected representatives that they must remember their constituents back home.
We will see which direction Alabama legislators go when they debate the allocation of the budget surpluses. Other states around the Nation have figured out how to balance the operations of their governments and return taxpayer’s dollars; thus, Alabama can do the same.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on Twitter at @Paul_DeMarco.