Bruce Ely Quoted in Tax Notes State About Alabama Tax Exemption Extension Case

August, 2021 - Birmingham, Alabama

Bradley attorney Bruce Ely was quoted in Tax Notes State related to a newly-filed challenge to a statutory sales/use tax exemption. In the August 25 complaint in Brown v. Barnett, the Alabama Education Association challenged the constitutionality of a joint resolution that purports to extend a state sales and use tax exemption for aircraft and helicopter repair parts. The association claims that “Alabama’s Education Trust Fund will lose funding because of this illegal bill.”

Ely told Tax NotesState “this is a rare challenge to the validity of a sales tax exemption.” He said the procedure of renewing by adoption of a joint House and Senate resolution “seems to have become relatively common in recent years as our Legislature has increasingly imposed sunset dates on various tax exemptions and incentives.”

Ely questioned “whether the teachers union and two individual public school employees and Alabama taxpayers have standing to challenge the exemption for aircraft and helicopter repair parts.” He added, “Their allege[d] link here is that the forgone revenue is earmarked for and would otherwise flow in the Education Trust Fund, which not surprisingly funds public school employee’s salaries and benefits as well as the public schools themselves.”

The original article, “Alabama Association Argues Aircraft Exemption Extension is Unconstitutional,” was published in Tax Notes State on August 30, 2021. (login required)

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