Montgomery, AL – Figures show Alabama's state and local taxes are ranked among the lowest in the nation, ahead of only South Carolina.
Acting state Finance Director Bill Newton says Alabama's total state and local tax collections per person ranked lowest among the 50 states in fiscal years 2005 through 2007. But Alabama's tax collections rose 3.8 percent from 2007 to 2008, while South Carolina's dropped 4.6 percent.
Jim Williams, executive director of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, based at Samford University, says the recession's effects on tax collections hit South Carolina sooner than Alabama.
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