Mobile and Hoover joined a lawsuit launched by Tuscaloosa challenging Alabama’s internet sales policy. What began as the City of Tuscaloosa against the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) could swell to roughly a dozen cities by Wednesday, the deadline to intervene. At stake is the future of the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT), a nearly decade-old system to tax online sales. City leaders argue that SSUT leaves them shortchanged because it taxes countless online transactions at lower rates than in-store purchases. “Hoover residents generate millions of dollars in online sales tax revenue every year, yet much of that money is being redistributed across the state instead of coming back home to support our own community," said Nick Derzis, the mayor of Hoover. "That is money that should be... supporting the services our residents rely on every day.” The lawsuit will challenge ADOR’s practice of allowing companies with a “clear physical presence in Alabama” to participate in a progr...