PRESS RELEASE
Higher Education Partnership, P.O. Box 761, Montgomery, AL 36101
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Gordon Stone, Executive Director, 334/832-9911, Fax: 334/832-9995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
With a few quick votes, Alabama's legislative committees have approved additional tax exemptions. While these bills are slowly advancing through the early stages of the legislative process, they could quickly become law. The Legislative Fiscal Office predicts that the cost to the Education Trust Fund from two of the exemptions could be as much as $40 million of future revenue.
Both of these bills are based on good ideas and promote worthy purposes. One bill proposes an exemption that its supporters hope would promote the movie industry in Alabama. The other would allow Alabamians to avoid taxes on their refunds from the recent federal tax cut. While the principle behind them is respectable, more tax exemptions are not what Alabama needs! With the state facing another year of proration, Alabama does not need to reduce any potential revenue. Every exemption starts with good intentions. Unfortunately, the exemptions are rarely reversed once their goals are achieved.
The bottom line is that Alabama cannot afford to fund education
under the current structure. Now is certainly not the time to
add exemptions!