With inflation and gas prices reaching record highs, many are wondering if there’s anything that can be done at the state level to give Alabama citizens some relief.
Gubernatorial candidate Lew Burdette said the Alabama Legislature could help the people of the Yellowhammer State immediately by cutting taxes.
Thursday, Burdette discussed his tax cut plan for Alabama on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”
“Day one, cap the gas tax,” he said. “Fifty-six percent gas tax, the current governor never campaigned, never debated, slid it in, first thing she did in 2019, 56% tax increase. We should have already put a moratorium on that tax. We should have already capped that. It’s wrong. It’s a payoff. So day one I’m going to cap the gas tax and I’m going to work to repeal it.”
The gas tax was not the only tax Burdette said that needed to go.
“The second thing I would do is repeal the grocery tax,” he advised. “We’re one of 13 states that still has a grocery tax. That would help every single Alabamian in this state, to repeal the grocery tax and put more money in Alabamian’s pockets.”
The candidate argued the whole tax system in Alabama needed to be reformed.
“We have such a convoluted tax system in this state,” he lamented. “I was talking with a guy last night that just moved here from Texas six months ago, and he said ‘it’s just amazing how taxed this state is compared to where I live in Texas’ because, you know, there’s a tax on everything. That was his point. So when you add up all of that from all over everywhere, we are way too taxed. That’s why I want to roll back gas taxes. That’s why I want to roll back grocery taxes.”
Burdette also argued against the idea that Alabama can’t afford to cut taxes right now.
“We have the money to do it!” he exclaimed. “We have a $1.2 billion surplus this year. We had $770 million in COVID money that they immediately spent. Spending is up 30% in Montgomery. We’re outpacing the nation in spending, and we’re supposed to have a supermajority of Republicans down there.”
He said it was time for Republicans in the legislature to start acting like real small government conservatives.
“People, they’re on my website all the time,” he continued, “saying ‘why would do I want to vote for a Republican, another Republican, cause the Republicans aren’t doing anything for me in this last 12 years since they’ve had the supermajority down there’ and I agreed with them! We got to get rid of RINO Republicans down there that aren’t interested in being a true conservative to stand for less taxes and less government.”
The latest poll in the governor’s race, conducted by Cygnal for Alabama Daily News and Gray Television, shows 47.5% of likely Republican voters choosing Governor Kay Ivey, 15.9% for Tim James, 13.4% for Lindy Blanchard and 7.6% for Burdette.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
