Alabama’s tax system is upside down, and the state sales tax on groceries is one reason why. Alabama remains one of only two states — the other is Mississippi — with no tax break on groceries. Food costs consume a larger portion of the household budget for low-income families than for those who are better off, so the grocery tax hits low-income people especially hard. The grocery tax is part of why Alabama’s overall tax system requires low- and middle-income people to pay twice as big a share of their incomes in state and local taxes as the riches households pay.