To promote educational excellence, the Alabama Education Association serves as an advocate for its members and leads the advancement of equitable and quality public education in Alabama.
AEA Joins Online Sales Tax Lawsuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2025
Contact: Kynesha Brown, AEA Public Relations Manager
Phone: 334-324-7218
Email: kynesha.brown@alaedu.org
Alabama Education Association Joins SSUT Lawsuit to Protect School Funding
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA —The Alabama Education Association (AEA) today filed a suit in the litigation challenging Alabama’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT), affirming its commitment to protecting fair and equitable funding for the state’s public education system.
The SSUT is an 8% tax applied to online and other remote sales by sellers without a physical presence in Alabama. Under the current structure, only one-eighth of the tax, effectively 1%, flows to the Education Trust Fund (ETF), while the majority of revenues are routed away from public education. By contrast, nearly all the state’s standard sales tax directly supports the ETF and local school systems.
As online commerce has surged, SSUT revenues have grown dramatically, exceeding $851 million statewide in 2024, according to the Alabama Department of Revenue. Despite this growth, Alabama’s schools continue to receive a disproportionately small share of these funds.
“The current application of the SSUT shortchanges Alabama’s local schools,” said Theron Stokes, AEA Associate Executive Director. “Allowing remote sellers to remit the SSUT instead of remitting traditional state and local sales taxes diverts millions of dollars away from the Education Trust Fund and local school systems — money our schools desperately need.”
The lawsuit challenges the Alabama Department of Revenue’s administration of the SSUT, arguing it is inconsistent with Alabama law. While the tax once served as a stopgap when states were barred from taxing remote sellers, AEA argues that legal changes have rendered the system outdated and harmful to public education funding.
AEA’s lawsuit seeks to ensure that the voices of educators and the students they serve are fully represented as the courts consider the future of internet sales taxation in Alabama.
“When school funding is at risk, AEA will act,” Stokes said. “We will always stand for a tax system that is fair, lawful, and ensures public education receives its rightful share.”