MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Residents sometimes pay hundreds of dollars in city sales taxes on hearing aids, but that would change under a proposal before the City Council.
The proposal, introduced Tuesday and expected to come up for a vote next week, would exempt the devices from city sales tax from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2029. The proposal follows passage of a state law last year that exempted hearing aids from the state sales tax for five years and authorized local governments to take similar action. Some local governments already have acted. The Baldwin County Commission, for instance, voted last year to eliminate its sale sales on the devices.
If passed, it would mean a combined savings of 9 percent on hearing aid purchases in the city of Mobile. City Councilman Ben Reynolds said that is a big deal considering that a good hearing aid costs thousands of dollars and that health insurance often does not cover the cost.
“All I can think of is my grandmother,” Reynolds said.
The councilman said his grandmother has passed away. He cited statistics from the International Hearing Aid Society suggesting that some 30 million American could benefit from hearing aids but that only about 6 million actually have them.
There are many reasons for that, Reynolds said, but he added that cost surely is an important factor.
“If a, you know, a local tax is going to get in the way of maybe somebody getting precisely what they want or need, we should probably do away with the tax,” he said. “It’s a nominal impact, I think, for the city. And I think it’s a worthwhile endeavor to get rid of the tax.”
Rocio Hilpert, the audiologist at Mobile Hearing Clinic, said eliminating the city sales tax on hearing aids would be “amazing” considering a quality hearing aid can cost $4,000 and run $200 in city sales tax.
“That’s a big portion for patients, especially who are on fixed income, over 65,” she told FOX10 news. “It’s that would be a great thing for them.”
Clarke White, Miracle Ear’s vice president of sales for the region that covers Alabama, told FOX10 News via text that the state law has had a “huge impact” since it took effect. He estimated that roughly 500,000 Alabamians are living with hearing loss.
Hilpert said the cost of hearing aids definitely is a burden for some.
“A lot of patients will come in, and I would say maybe half of them don’t get hearing aids because they can’t afford it,” she said. “It’s really sad, because they need to hear to function. … Hearing aids are a necessity. They shouldn’t be taxed.”
Reynolds acknowledged the proposal would cost the city some revenue but said he doesn’t think it would be that much.
“I’m not really that concerned with it, to be honest with you,” he said. “The city will be just fine. You know, I think we’ll be better off as a society if people can have the access they need to these hearing devices.”
Jo O’Brien, who opened All About Hearing in Mobile in April and has been in the field since 2013, said she saw a big impact working in Mississippi’s Jackson County when that state eliminated taxes on hearing aids.
“It just makes hearing aids a little bit more affordable for people,” she told FOX10 News. “And I mean, we just have to admit that people need help right now. … We need to be able to make things more affordable, especially for those that are trying to stay in the workforce.”
O’Brien said getting rid of the tax also would make local businesses more competitive.
“The biggest thing is that we’re surrounded by states that have no tax on hearing aids,” she said. “So especially being here in Mobile County, that if we can save, you know, 10 or 6 percent by going over to Mississippi or Florida, a lot of people are willing to do that.”
City Councilwoman Gina Gregory said during the agenda-setting meeting prior to Tuesday’s public meeting that she supports the proposal. She noted that there is a current proposal in the Legislature exempt eyeglasses from the state sales tax.
“It looks like some of these things are ongoing, and we’ll need to continue looking at exempting various things need for, you know, medical purposes,” she said.
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