Alabama residents could soon get a tax rebate of up to $800 soon. Gov. Kay Ivey, on Tuesday, proposed a one-time tax rebate from Alabama that would give $400 to individuals and $800 to married couples. Along with the one-time tax rebate from Alabama, Gov. Ivey also proposed a 2% pay raise for teachers and state employees.

One-Time Tax Rebate From Alabama: Who Would Get It?

On Tuesday, Gov. Ivey submitted the proposed spending plans for the fiscal year that starts October 1. Among other things, the proposed plan includes a one-time tax rebate from Alabama, as well as a 2% pay raise for teachers and state employees.

“From returning our taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars back to them to making historic investments in our students’ education, these budgets will help foster a strong Alabama today and a stronger Alabama tomorrow,” Gov. Ivey said in a statement.

Gov. Ivey’s proposed one-time tax rebate is around double the amount that many lawmakers discussed initially. This rebate, however, will go to those who filed state income tax returns and meet the income threshold.

As per the Alabama Department of Revenue, part-year single residents are required to file a return if their annual income is more than $4,000, while Alabama residents and joint-filing Alabama residents are required to file a return if their annual income is more than $10,500.

Is Sending A Rebate The Best Use Of Money?

Alabama has two budgets – the general fund and the education trust fund. The budget that funds education has a rare surplus of $2.8 billion, while the state’s general fund has a surplus of $351 million.

Gov. Ivey proposed around $8.8 billion for the Education Trust Fund budget and around $2.9 billion for the General Fund budget. If approved, both budgets will be the largest ever for the state, in nominal terms.

Sending the one-time tax rebate from Alabama is estimated to cost the state about $966.8 million. The money for the rebate would come from the state’s Education Trust Fund.

Many are of the opinion that sending the one-time rebate is not the best use of the money. House minority leader Anthony Daniels believes a better use would be to eliminate the state’s grocery and overtime tax.

Separately, Alabama’s Department of Finance Director Bill Poole told reporters $10 million would be set aside for the start-up charter schools. The supplemental appropriations bill sent to reporters noted that another $10 million would be set aside for the existing charter schools.

Lawmakers will now debate the proposed spending plans before arriving at the final version of the legislation. It must be noted that the lawmakers will have to pass the one-time rebate in a separate bill. Once the rebate is approved, it would take the authorities about 60-90 days to issue the checks.

This article originally appeared on ValueWalk

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