Georgia House rejects near-total elimination of homeowner property taxes

The Georgia House of Representatives rejected a proposal to nearly eliminate homeowner property taxes.

The Republican-driven measure would have put a constitutional amendment to voters. To get on the ballot, it required support from some Democrats to win the necessary two-thirds majority.

Only one Democrat backed the resolution when it came to a vote Tuesday night.

Republicans said Georgia needs to redesign its tax system because property taxes are too high. Democrats countered that renters would suffer if the tax were nearly eliminated, and they observed that everyone would pay more for groceries and other essentials, since the proposal would have made up for lost revenue in part by raising sales taxes.

Rep. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, said the change would have opened a $5 billion hole in local government budgets. Cities and counties use property taxes to pay for basic services, including police, roads, and schools.

“If you care about public education, vote no,” Park said.

Republicans said homeowners need tax relief.

Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, the lead author of the legislation, read a letter from a Georgia man whose adult daughter was stricken by illness.

The family ran through their savings after his wife quit working to care for her, and they decided not to pay their property taxes in case they needed the money for a funeral.

The daughter survived, but Blackmon used the story to illustrate the urgency.

“We can’t put property tax relief on hold for people like this,” he said.

The proposal had gone through many re-designs since lawmakers arrived in January, and it was still being amended this week, the deadline for the House to send bills to the Senate and vice versa.

It called for gradual reduction in the proportion of a primary residence’s value that is subject to property tax. Currently, 40% is taxable, but Blackmon proposed reducing that to 10% over a decade. His plan would have forced cities and counties to levy new sales taxes and assessments if they wanted to recoup enough revenue to preserve services.

Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, said the proposal was a political stunt that was never meant to pass.

House Resolution 1114 failed by a vote of 99-73.

“What we are seeing here today is an exercise in cold, hard politics,” said Hugley, the House minority leader. “It’s simply about what voters do you want to drive out to the polls.”

But Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, said Democrats were the ones playing politics by keeping the measure off the ballot.

“They want to deny your right to vote,” he said, “because they’re scared of the impact that it will have on the electoral turnout in November.”

House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, has said that property tax relief is a top priority during an election year when affordability is on voters’ minds. The Republican-led Senate has its own affordability strategy, having sent the House several bills that would sharply reduce income taxes.

Burns’ plan may not be dead yet. After HR 1114 failed, Blackmon moved for reconsideration. Burns said it would get another vote on Wednesday.

The post Georgia House rejects near-total elimination of homeowner property taxes appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.