Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley will sign an executive order on Tuesday creating a group focused on reviewing the sales tax related to groceries.

The Grocery Tax task force will take the information they gather and recommend to the Governor and the Legislature changes that ensure a fair and equitable tax while encouraging a healthier Alabama.

Bentley briefly outlined plans for the task force during his annual State of the State address earlier this month.

This year we will launch a new effort to help put money back into the pockets of Alabama families. Alabama is one of only four states with no tax break on groceries, placing a greater burden on low-income families and those on a fixed-income. A task force made up of experts from fields such as education, healthcare, taxation and revenue, and the economy will study the impact of removing the sales tax on food. The group will compare best practices from comparable states and deliver its recommendation to me this Fall. I want to remove the state tax on food. Every family in Alabama should be able to find a good job and feed their families without being overly taxed.

“Ending the state grocery tax would boost the economy and help millions of Alabama families make ends meet. We’re glad the governor recognized the need for Alabama to untax groceries, and we hope lawmakers will move quickly to end this regressive tax once and for all,” Alabama Arise State Coordinator Kimble Forrister told al.com following the 2017 State of State address. Bentley will sign the order at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Old House Chamber of the Alabama State Capitol.

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