FOLEY – Starting Tuesday, Oct. 1, the city of Foley is dropping municipal sales taxes on hearing aids.
The Foley City Council voted to end any taxes on the devices after a bill passed by the Alabama Legislature dropped the state tax. The state tax will also end Oct. 1.
The act will cost Foley about $30,000 a year in municipal tax revenue.
Mayor Ralph Hellmich said that while the tax does not generate a great deal of money for the city, the charges can have an impact on individuals, particularly older residents who are the ones who most often need hearing aids.
“Not all older folks are really well off, and I think this will help,” Hellmich said.
Hellmich said Foley would be the first city in Baldwin County to remove the tax on hearing aids.
Mike Thompson, Foley city administrator, said one resident told him that the cost of a hearing aid was about $4,000. The total sales tax of about 10% would add another $400 to that amount.
That’s real money to them,” Thompson said before the council voted on the city tax. “It’s nice that the state has changed this, but the constituent’s hope is that the city will follow suit with our portion of the sales tax.”
Florida also does not charge sales taxes on hearing aids. Councilman Richard Dayton said reducing the city tax could also keep business in Foley.
“If we keep this in place, all we’re doing is encouraging people to leave here and do business with a provider in Florida,” Dayton said. “So we would revenue to Florida in the form of sales that could be made here and jobs that could be kept here.”
The council approved the ordinance Monday, Sept. 16. Ordinances usually require two votes at separate council meetings. The council voted unanimously to suspect the meeting rules to pass the proposal in one meeting so that the tax could be removed on the same day that the state fee ended.
House Bill 51 was passed by the Alabama Legislature during the 2024 session. The bill removes the state tax on hearing aids, but leaves the decision on city sales taxes to the municipalities.