The annual on-line sales holiday Cyber Monday is here – and that’s good news for the state of Alabama’s bottom line.

Alabama’s retail economy has been moving toward on-line shopping, more and more in recent years especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the shift actually predates the pandemic; Alabama started to collect on-line sales tax in 2018 with the Simplified Seller’s Use Tax – allowing retailers not based in Alabama to pay a flat 8% tax – rather than pay a local sales tax rate in every Alabama municipality and county.

The tax wasn’t fully implemented until the 2020 fiscal year, which ran from October of 2019 to September of 2020. With that on-line tax system a full go in the 2020 fiscal year, Alabama raked in nearly $386 million in on-line sales taxes nearly doubling the number from the previous year – according to data from the Alabama Department of Revenue.

And 2021 was even stronger – with the state bringing in $521 million in tax revenue from the on-line tax in the 2021 fiscal year, which ended on September 30th.  That’s a 35% increase over 2020′s already high number.  As of Sunday – Alabama had already reported nearly $43 million in new tax revenue from on-line sales.

More and more retailers are offering special on-line deals as shoppers continue to go on-line and avoid the crowds preferring the ease of looking things over from afar and often, taking advantage of free shipping to their front door.

(AL.COM/www.al.com)