MONTGOMERY — State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) said on Thursday he opposed another attempt by the City of Montgomery to pass an occupational tax.
Members of the Montgomery City Council approved a resolution by a 6-3 vote last week directing the city’s lobbyists to push legislation creating a new occupational tax for Montgomery in the current legislative session.
The Montgomery City Council passed an occupational tax in 2020, but state lawmakers and Governor Kay Ivey blocked the measure by enacting a law requiring such levies to be approved by the legislature. An occupational tax would require every individual employed in Montgomery, whether they live in the city or elsewhere, to pay a 1% tax on each paycheck.
Barfoot told 1819 News the occupational tax was “taxation without representation.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that the citizens of Montgomery and surrounding communities do not pay an occupational tax,” Barfoot said. “It’s not happening. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. The interesting thing is the people who live outside of Montgomery and come and visit and shop and work in Montgomery are giving tax dollars already to the city of Montgomery.”
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed promoted the benefits of the occupational tax during his recent podcast.
“It’s been talked about in this city for decades and is something that 26 other cities have currently. It is more than 20% of the City of Birmingham’s budget. It is a significant portion of Auburn’s budget,” Reed said. “When we’re looking at cities that people say, ‘Well, why don’t you have this? Why don’t you have that?’ If I gave you 20% more money in your bank account, you could probably do a little bit more, too. We don’t have what 26 other cities in this state have.”
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