Politics

Tax bill heads to Gov. Deal

March 22nd, 2012

Today, the Georgia Senate passed a bill aimed at reforming the state’s tax system.

The Georgia House already passed the bill. So, it heads to Governor Nathan Deal who is expected to sign it.

With the bill all but sure to become law, many who will be impacted still have questions.

Lawmakers, lobbyists, advocacy groups and political observers all say House Bill 386 will impact just about everyone: consumers, businesses as well as cities and counties.

Clint Mueller is the legislative director for the Association of County Commissioners in Georgia.

“It’s a very complex piece of legislation and it’s going to require quite an education effort with not only local governments but with the public in general,” says Mueller.

He says that counties don’t know if they’ll collect more or less tax revenue under the pending law.

Here’s one reason why. Right now, if you own a car, you pay your county a certain amount in ad valorem taxes every year.

For current car owners, that won’t change. But, if you buy a car after the bill goes into effect, the only time you’ll pay taxes on that car is when you buy it.

Currently, counties don’t know how much money they’ll gain or lose from the new vehicle title excise tax.