MOBILE, Ala. (NBC 15) — The fight over the internet sales tax, or Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT), hit a fevered pitch overnight with all 67 counties in Alabama joining the suit. As of Thursday morning, 169 cities and towns across the state also joined in the suit. The deadline to join, or intervene in the suit, was Wednesday.
The cities and counties are on opposite sides of the issue. The counties want the collection and distribution of the tax to remain the same. The cities want to revamp it so they get, what they call their fair share.
What is the SSUT? It is the tax you pay when you purchase something online from a retailer that has opted into the SSUT. That tax is a flat 8% versus a varying amount depending on what county and/or city you are in. The State gets the first 4% of both the sales tax and the SSUT, so their cut of the tax won’t change no matter the outcome of the suit…