A lawsuit has been filed and is seeking class action status against the county alleging an occupational tax was repealed in a 1999 law that became effective on April 1, 2000. If the judge grants class action status, then occupational taxpayers automatically would be eligible for a refund, provided the judge later rules the tax invalid and orders the refunds. The county has collected $418 million in occupational tax since 2000, which funds about 10 percent of the county's budget.
State Representative Arthur Payne introduced a new occupational tax bill in 2000, which passed after legislators had earmarked money for 88 special projects. That version was declared unconstitutional by the Alabama Supreme Court in 2001, and the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case months later. The Alabama Supreme Court, however, upheld the original 1987 occupational tax in 2001.
