Georgia will collect another $5 billion in surplus revenue after the just-concluded budget year, which could leave lawmakers and Gov. Brian Kemp with more than $10 billion in extra cash to spend, invest or give back to taxpayers. That’s about $1,000 for every Georgia resident.
Final numbers for the 2023 budget year that ended June 30 won’t be clear for weeks. But numbers announced Wednesday by the state Revenue Department show taxes collected by that department matched last year’s $33 billion, while the Republican Kemp had estimated a $5.4 billion decrease.
It’s the third year of huge surpluses, after $3.7 billion in 2021 and $6.4 billion in 2022, and critics are questioning whether Republicans are purposefully holding down spending while cutting university spending, refusing to fully expand Medicaid health insurance to poorer adults and struggling to retain state employees.
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