Georgia is taking a one-time $240 million hit to its bank account because accounting software wasn’t sending the right share of sales taxes to local governments.
The payments were made last month after an audit by the state Department of Revenue, sending state revenue into the red in September, according to figures released Tuesday. State revenue fell by 3.6% compared to a year ago. Without the payment, it would have risen by a strong 7%.
A memo from Deputy Revenue Commissioner Jessica Simmons, released by the governor’s office, said a number of businesses were using accounting software that misallocated taxes between late 2015 and early 2018. Further work found that the error ran all the way through 2018, until it was fixed in January 2019.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
