Tuscaloosa files lawsuit: Are Alabama cities getting their fair share from online sales taxes?

The DoorDash app is shown on a smartphone on Feb. 27, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo) AP

The City of Tuscaloosa has filed a lawsuit claiming Alabama’s system for taxing online purchases is unconstitutional and should be scrapped entirely.

The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, targets the state’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT) — an 8-year-old program that Tuscaloosa officials say unfairly shortchanges cities by taxing millions of internet sales at lower rates than in-store purchases.

“Alabama’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax taxes revenue generated in our community and sends it elsewhere,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox in a statement. “For nearly a decade, we have proposed legislative changes and attempted to work with the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) to make r