Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has announced the creation of a state Senate committee that will consider eliminating Georgia’s income tax.
Jones, who presides over the Georgia Senate, announced last week he will seek the Republican nomination for governor next year. He signaled in his opening campaign video that, if elected, he would push to get rid of the tax. Legislative Republicans and conservative tax policy advocates have long called for abolishing Georgia’s income tax to help the state compete for jobs with neighboring states.
This year, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a Kemp-backed bill to cut the tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year. Democrats who opposed the measure argued it would benefit primarily wealthy taxpayers. The 11-member Georgia Senate Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax will include eight Republican senators and three Democrats.
Meanwhile, Jones’ Republican opponent for the Governor’s office, Attorney General Chris Carr, has accused Jones of misrepresenting his finances in making a $10 million loan to his campaign, detailed in a complaint Carr made to the State Ethics Commission Thursday.
