MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama voters are strongly supportive of eliminating the state sales tax on groceries and overwhelmingly prefer that to a one-time income tax rebate, according to a new poll conducted by the Alabama Republican Party.
In its internal survey of 1,610 registered voters, 70% of Republicans told the ALGOP they support eliminating the state sales tax on groceries. That support mirrored among Democrats, 70 percent of which also said they support cutting state sales taxes on food.
Asked about the Legislature using the budget surplus to provide rebate checks, just 34% of Republican voters signaled support, while 42% said they opposed the idea and 24% were unsure. Among Democrats, 49% supported the idea of a tax rebate, while 30% were opposed and 21% remained unsure.
Given a choice between the grocery tax cut and the tax rebate check, the results were overwhelming across the political spectrum.
At least one grocery tax reduction bill has been filed this session in the Alabama Legislature and others are expected.
Among Republicans, 83% said they preferred a grocery sales tax cut while 17% said a tax rebate. Among Democrats, 80% chose the grocery tax cut while 20% chose a rebate. And among independents, 85% preferred the grocery tax cut to 15% who preferred the rebate.
The survey was conducted internally by the Alabama Republican Party using a combination of live and automated calls. The sample consisted of 31% Democrats, 58% Republicans and 11% Independents, and has a Margin of Error of +/- 3.2%.
See slide deck below.
