Tax Reform
Taxes are a tool used to promote the common good. They provide the funding for education, child care, Medicaid, mental health care and other public infrastructure that improves everyone’s quality of life. But Alabama’s outdated tax structure fails to raise enough revenue to support these services, which holds our state back from realizing its full potential.
Alabama’s upside-down tax system also taxes many struggling families deeper into poverty. Low-income families pay twice the share of their income in state and local taxes on average that top earners do. Making that problem worse, Alabama is one of only three states with no tax break on groceries.
Arise has been a leading proponent of tax reform in Alabama for decades, and our analysis and advocacy were crucial in the enactment of a state income tax cut for families in poverty in 2006. Our research continues to show the range of benefits that Alabama would reap by untaxing groceries, ending large tax breaks for rich households and big corporations, and taking other steps to rebalance and modernize its tax system.
Featured Resources
Member Resources
Alabama Arise 2025 legislative priorities
Resources
VIDEO: The path forward in Arise’s work to untax groceries
Fact Sheet
Explaining Alabama’s state grocery tax reduction: What it covers and what it doesn’t
Newsletter
June 2023 newsletter
The June 2023 newsletter features a recap of the 2023 Alabama legislative session as well as coverage from our Legislative Day.