A committee in the Georgia state senate is pitching a massive overhaul to Georgia’s state income tax: gradually eliminating it for taxpayers and businesses. Of course, the committee will also have to look at places they can make up the lost revenue, if not from state income tax. Keep scrolling to learn more about this massive plan.
Wait… what’s going on?
According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a tax policy committee formed by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is recommending a massive change to the Georgia state income tax as we know it. Basically, the plan is to completely get rid of the state income tax for nearly 2/3 of Georgia workers… and lower it for everyone else.
The AJC reports that the plan:
calls for making the first $50,000 of income for individual filers tax-free. Married couples filing jointly would pay no state income tax on their first $100,000 of income.
So… is this happening now, then?
Not yet. Right now the committee is just in discussions. And there are some who agree and some who disagree, of course.
Those who back the state income tax elimination say that cutting the income tax would return money to taxpayers that the state doesn’t need with, as 11Alive reports it, “a budget surplus reportedly in the range of nearly $15 billion.”
Opponents of the elimination say that the income tax would be hard to replace, and more should be spent on public services and programs.
But the plan doesn’t currently explain how exactly they would replace (if they would) the lost income tax. According to WSBTV Atlanta,
You can learn more about what’s going on in the Georgia State Senate on their website, here.Officials said the proposal does not include increases for sales taxes, nor would it create a state property tax or reduce government service funding for Georgians in need of assistance.