DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) — Online sales tax revenue helped Houston County fund public safety services during fiscal year 2026 as operating costs increased, according to a statement from Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shoupe.
The statement identifies Alabama’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax, or SSUT, as an essential source of funding for law enforcement and other county services.
“We have an outstanding Sheriff’s Department, and it’s our responsibility to ensure it remains properly funded,” said Shoupe. “But our revenue is expected to be flat for the third year in a row, were it not for SSUT we’d be forced to confront the painful possibility of making sizable cuts because our revenue would be in decline.”
According to the statement, Alabama counties spent nearly $1 billion on law enforcement services during the past year. It lists more than $570 million for sheriff’s departments, nearly $400 million for jail operations and upwards of $70 million for inmate medical care.
The statement did not provide Houston County’s individual spending totals or the amount it received through SSUT.
Established in 2015, the program collects use tax on purchases Alabama consumers make from eligible out-of-state sellers. Revenue is distributed to state, county and municipal governments, according to the statement.
Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said the revenue has become especially important as counties face growing expenses.
“In most counties, the revenue from SSUT is the only growing source of revenue. Without it, most county expenditures would be stagnant,” Brasfield said.
“Law enforcement and the operation of the county jail is the single largest expenditure in every county in our state, so everyone has a vested interest in protecting the revenue from SSUT and ensuring that it continues to fund these essential services.”
Before the program began, Alabama relied on consumers voluntarily paying use taxes owed on online purchases, according to the statement.
