SB280 and constitutional amendment aim to slash taxes in the Peach State.
Georgia Tax Cuts Proposed in Senate
Georgia recently earned a strong rating—No. 7 nationwide—in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” report, and Senator Judson Hill may be looking to keep that momentum going.
In January, Sen. Hill introduced a bill—Senate Bill 280, the Tax Relief Act of 2016—and a constitutional amendment, both of which aimed to cut the state income tax.
According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, SB280 would set the income tax rate at 5.4 percent (down from the current 6 percent) and increase personal exemptions by $2,000 per person. The bill would preserve deductions for mortgage interest payments, charitable contributions and medical expenses, but would eliminate a number of other itemized deductions.
The constitutional amendment, however, would slash the state’s income tax rate as low as 5 percent and would be tied to the amount of revenue coming in to the state treasury and the size of Georgia’s rainy day reserve fund.
Hill has requested a fiscal note to see how much his bill would cost, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but early estimates on the bill’s proposed cuts would mean Georgians could pay about $1 billion less in taxes per year.
