Montgomery, AL – An Alabama House committee has issued a list of recommendations for fighting poverty. The recommendations include eliminating the state sales tax on food.
House Speaker Seth Hammett says that is a worthwhile goal. But he says it will not happen unless the governor and legislative leaders collectively come up with a way to replace the $500 million in tax revenue that would be lost by removing the sales tax on food.
The House Poverty Task Force was appointed by Hammett and has been meeting since last summer.
One result of the work of the task force is a bill to set up a permanent state commission on poverty. Hammett says he expects that bill to be considered by the House next week.
Task force chairwoman Rep. Patricia Todd of Birmingham released the report at a Statehouse news conference Thursday.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)