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Chilton County Commission backs Alabama's Simplified Seller Use Tax, urges legislators to oppose changes
Summary
The commission unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the state's Simplified Seller Use Tax (SSUT), citing its revenue role and urging lawmakers to resist changes that would disrupt distribution to counties and municipalities.
The Chilton County Commission on Aug. 26 unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Alabama Legislature to oppose changes to the state’s Simplified Seller Use Tax (SSUT) program and to preserve the current formula for distributing revenue among local governments.
The resolution, presented as coming from the Alabama Association of County Commissioners, notes that the SSUT remittance act (codified at Section 40-23-191, Code of Alabama 1975) was enacted in 2015, cites the U.S. Supreme Court decision South Dakota v. Wayfair (585 U.S. ___, 2018), and states that the SSUT has provided more than $4.2 billion in revenue to the Alabama General Fund, the Education Trust Fund and to local governments since enactment.
Commissioners who spoke in favor of the resolution said the SSUT helps level the playing field for rural small businesses and provides predictable revenue for county services, including bond payments on the county courthouse. Several commissioners warned that litigation and legislative changes could put that revenue at risk; members referenced a lawsuit led by several mayors seeking changes to the program and urged residents to ask candidates where they stand on SSUT during elections.
The resolution also endorses the current population-based allocation method for dividing the county portion of SSUT revenue among Alabama’s 67 counties and “strongly opposes any legislative efforts to alter the SSUT program in any way that would disrupt its operations or call into question its constitutionality,” language the commission approved.
The motion to adopt the resolution was moved by Commissioner Perkins and seconded by Commissioner Billingsley; the vote was recorded as unanimous.
