I’ll give the governor of Alabama credit…at least he bothers to answer the question of how he is going to pay for his proposed tax breaks.

“We’re going to introduce legislation that will let us collect revenues that have historically been brought into the state,” Riley said.

Riley told The Associated Press the state can recoup the lost revenue by rewriting a law concerning corporate income tax collections that Montgomery County Circuit Judge Tracy McCooey ruled unconstitutional last year. State officials have said the ruling could cost the state $30 million to $50 million a year.

McCooey had thrown out a 2001 law concerning the way the state collects some taxes from some corporations. Riley said he will ask the Legislature to rewrite the law to remove the judge’s objections.

Riley said rewriting the tax law will allow the state to collect an extra $24 million a year, about what the governor’s tax break bills would cost in the first year.

Riley said he is not proposing a tax hike.

“We’re just doing what’s been done for decades in collecting corporate taxes,” Riley said.

He said the bill will specify that the additional revenue be used to pay for the proposed tax breaks.

montgomeryadvertiser.com :: Riley offers way to fund tax breaks

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