by T.A. DeFeo
The Georgia Senate approved a measure Wednesday to lower the state’s income tax to 5.39% from 5.49%.
The state Senate voted 40-12 in favor of House Bill 1015, sending the measure to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is expected to sign it.
Kemp signed HB 1437 into law in April 2022, setting the state’s tax level at a flat 5.49% rate for the tax year starting Jan. 1, 2024. At the time, Kemp called it “the largest tax cut in Georgia history.”
“Thank you to the General Assembly for final passage of HB 1015, which speeds up the timeline of the largest income tax cut in state history, putting Georgians’ hard-earned money back where it belongs — in their pockets,” Kemp said in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
Additionally, the measure decreases the rate by 0.1% annually starting Jan. 1, 2025, until it reaches 4.99%. However, the measure does contain some provisions that could delay the decrease, including if the governor’s revenue estimate for the next fiscal year is not at least 3% above the current fiscal year.
The automatic decrease could also be delayed if the previous fiscal year’s net revenue collection did not surpass the preceding three fiscal years or if the Revenue Shortfall Reserve does not have more than the expected decrease in state revenue from the tax rate reduction.
“We are pleased to see any reduction in the burden on Georgia’s taxpayers, and we look forward to working with legislators to reduce it further in the future,” Kyle Wingfield, president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, said in a statement to The Center Square.
On Wednesday, lawmakers also passed HB 1023 by a 34-17 margin. It matches the business tax rate to the individual income tax rate.
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T.A. DeFeo is a contributor to The Center Square.
