Soon eligible Alabamians will receive payouts from the federal government, part of the effort to stem the tide of economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, under Alabama law, those monies are considered income and would be taxed as such.
State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Daphne) is seeking to prevent that from happening with a bill he hopes will get consideration this abbreviated legislative session, also impacted by the coronavirus spread.
During an interview on Huntsville radio’s WVNN on Friday, Elliott reminded listeners of similar circumstances from the 2008 federal stimulus.
“This happened back in 2008 when it was the last federal stimulus package took place,” he said on “The Jeff Poor Show.” “The state looks at that money as income and wants the revenue off of that accordingly. In 2008, the legislature passed an act that excluded that stimulus money from state income taxes, and what I’m trying to do is essentially the same thing again and make sure that the folks that are getting the stimulus money — $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 jointly and additional $500 a kid — is not taxed at the state level. I think that’s just kind of heaping on at that point. So hopefully, we can make that one of the essential — one of the few bills that will probably see its way through this session as we get back at the end of April.”
The Baldwin County Republican lawmaker said there was a distinction between the executive and legislative branches’ roles in the COVID-19 fight, and said it was his view the legislature take a “big picture” look at the economy under these circumstances.
“That’s been at the forefront of a lot of folks’ minds,” Elliott explained. “As a legislator, we are in those executive branch functions that are charged with the immediate response to this. So, we have the ability, and really the charge, I think, to take a step and really look at what’s happening big picture to the economy and to the folks we represent from a financial standpoint, to try to do what we can do while we’re in session. That’s the other issue — because this comes in, and we’re going to have to get it done this session to get it ready for the next tax year. It’s incumbent upon us to act and look forward to make sure we got these things taken care of for our constituents ahead of time.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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