Montgomery City Council Mulling Over One Percent Occupational Tax

The Montgomery City Council is considering the adoption of a one percent occupational tax.

A “YES” vote Tuesday doesn’t mean the tax will go into effect, instead the city council will appoint a committee to study allocations for the tax.

If the occupational tax is implemented, any person working in Montgomery and receiving a W-2 form from a Montgomery business will be subjected to that occupational tax.

The tax was proposed by city councilman, Glenn Pruitt. He says the money generated from the tax would raise salaries for police officers and help with retaining those officers. The revenue would also be used for other public safety projects.

Twenty cities in Alabama currently have occupational taxes. Of all the major cities in Alabama, Montgomery collects the least amount of taxes per person.

The tax increase is expected to generate somewhere between $45-55 million, which is nearly 20 percent of Montgomery’s budget.