Editorials

Let's cut to the chase.

Coming up for a vote in the Alabama House of Representatives is a proposed constitutional amendment that would make groceries less expensive for every Alabamian and reduce the amount of income tax that more than 60 percent of our residents pay.

The amendment would remove the state sales tax on groceries, leaving only our fellow Southern neighbor Mississippi with that undistinguished distinction. This would be a tax break for everyone, but it would especially help families, which every legislator claims as a first priority.

The amendment would also raise personal and dependent income tax exemptions, which would bring the state threshold for taxing income to just under $20,000 a year — a change that would once again help families.

Of course, when you cut taxes you must also cut spending, unless you can recover the lost revenue in another way.

Recovery is critical under this plan, because the money that's lost will come from the education budget. And education, as every legislator will tell you, also is a family value (not to mention critical to the state's economic development).

Therefore, the amendment also will eliminate the federal income tax deduction on state returns, which would affect only those in higher income brackets and leave just Louisiana and Iowa in that category.

Yet, there is opposition.

Even though 63 percent of Alabama taxpayers (those making $50,000 or less in adjusted gross income each year) would see their taxes go down, there are legislators who somehow find this unjust.

Even though Alabamians who make between $50,000 and $60,000 a year would see their tax bills rise only about $4 a month, there are some legislators who find this unfair.

Even though Alabamians who make between $60,000 and $100,000 a year would pay about $17 more a month, some legislators find this unacceptable.

And even though the relatively few Alabamians who make between $100,000 and $200,000 a year would see their tax bill go up about $58 a month, some legislators would rather protect this state-granted tax break than ease the burden on the majority of our residents.

So when the votes are cast on this amendment, don't be fooled by all the talk about tax policy and ideology. This will be a vote in which our representatives will reveal who they represent.

Who will it be?