Debate in the Alabama Legislature has returned to the issue that led to the repeal of the original occupational tax – who should pay. Lost in the debate are the taxpayers who paid the old tax after the repeal. Judge Rains ordered those taxpayers receive refunds. The bills going before the local legislation committee – one from the House of Representatives and one from the Senate – try to make the new occupational tax apply back to 1999 and take away the refunds ordered by Judge Rains. We think this aspect of the pending bills is illegal and if either is passed “as is,” we will challenge it in court. We know these bills are unfair to the taxpayers. Whichever bill comes out of this process needs to protect the taxpayers who have been taken advantage of under the old illegal tax.
The taxpayers of Jefferson County need to let the members of Local Legislation Committee Number 2 know that they need these refunds. Either the legislators are for tax refunds and will apply the bill going forward only, or they are against tax refunds and will attempt to pass legislation that tries to apply the new tax back to 1999. The members of Local Legislation Committee Number 2 are Senators Smitherman, French, Beason, Bishop, Coleman, Erwin and Waggoner. Contact information from the Alabama Senate Bios for each of these Senators is provided below. Please let them know how important these refunds are to the taxpayers of Jefferson County.
LOCAL LEGISLATION NO. 2
Rodger Smitherman – Chairperson – (334) 242-7870; (205) 322-3768; (205) 322-0012; rodger.smitherman@alsenate.gov
Steve French – Vice Chairperson – (334) 242-7851; (205) 871-3881; (205) 414-7544; steve.french@alsenate.gov
Scott Beason – (334) 242-7794
Charles Bishop – (334) 242-7894; (205) 221-4950
Linda Coleman – (334) 242-7864; (205) 798-1045; (205) 254-2079; lindacoleman60@bellsouth.net
Henry “Hank” Erwin – (334) 242-7873; (205) 620-0116; (205) 621-6681; senatorerwin@aol.com
J. T. “Jabo” Waggoner – (334) 242-7892; (205) 822-7443; (205) 978-7405; jabo.waggoner@alsenate.gov
