Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/743325
8 Oil Prophets J. Bart Fletcher, CAE P&CMA President While I am no Siskel or Ebert, I do enjoy good movies. I especially like comedies and am a fan of Bill Murray and his movies. Caddyshack remains one of my all- me favorites and Christy o en res of me quo ng my favorite lines….which I usually find hilariously funny. Another great Bill Murray movie is "Groundhog Day." I am sure most of you are familiar with it, but in case you are not the basic premise is that Bill Murray's character con nues to re-live the same day, Groundhog Day, over and over. By re-living the day he is able to correct some mistakes he makes and ul mately everything works out in his favor. The current state of affairs regarding an increase in the statewide motor fuels excise tax reminds me of this movie. With each new or Special Legisla ve Session we see legisla on introduced to increase the tax. Each me the legisla on is "tweaked" a li le to try and make it more acceptable to the members of the legislature. So far, the outcome hasn't changed; the bill hasn't passed. But like in the movie, as the supporters of the increase con nue to "re-live" the same scenario, they correct some mistakes and their message gets stronger. One of these days everything will work in their favor, just like it did for Bill Murray's character in the movie. Now before we go any further, I need to be very clear about the associa on's posi on. We DO NOT oppose a reasonable increase in the statewide motor fuels excise tax. Our members recognize the need for adequate infrastructure in our state. In addi on, we understand the role that infrastructure plays in economic development all across our state. Where we do have an issue is with the local op on taxes (County and City) that are also levied in Alabama. You have heard me say this before (maybe I am in my own Groundhog Day movie) but currently there are 22 Coun es and 317 Municipali es that levy a Motor Fuel Excise Tax in addi on to the statewide tax. The highest combina on of County and City taxes is 8 cents-per-gallon. These local taxes cause compe ve imbalances and accoun ng nightmares for our members statewide cos ng your business me and money. For years we have preached about the merits of a "levelized" tax. Simply said, one equal rate of taxa on for all loca ons statewide. We understand that in order to achieve this we would have to have a fairly significant increase in the current statewide rate, but ul mately the end result would be more acceptable than the current situa on. We have been told by the leadership in the House PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE Groundhog Day... YOUR AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR AND LIGHTING AGENT FOR CREE LED LIGHTING. Contact Nick Kendall at 251.422.8301. SunbeltCWS.com XSP Series Wall Mount OSQ Series Outdoor Area Luminaires CPY Series Canopy & Soffit