Georgia
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ITEP Work in Action March 5, 2019 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Georgia Work Credit Grows the Middle Class
A non-refundable Georgia Work Credit would cut state taxes for more than 700,000 lower and middle-income households by up to $475. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that… -
ITEP Work in Action December 15, 2018 Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Increase the State Tobacco Tax for Healthier Georgia
Georgia could raise more than $400 million a year to make critical investments for the health and well-being of Georgia residents by raising the cigarette tax by at least $1 per pack. Georgia has the third-lowest state cigarette tax rate out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. At 37 cents per pack, it falls far below the national average of $1.72. Over the past decade, many states have increased tobacco tax rates as a way to raise new revenue while reducing smoking rates and the health care costs associated with smoking. Georgia has not increased its cigarette tax rate since 2003.
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October 17, 2018 Georgia: Who Pays? 6th Edition
GEORGIA Read as PDF GEORGIA STATE AND LOCAL TAXES Taxes as Share of Family Income Top 20% Income Group Lowest 20% Second 20% Middle 20% Fourth 20% Next 15% Next… -
blog October 2, 2018 Twelve States Offer Profitable Tax Shelter to Private School Voucher Donors; IRS Proposal Could Fix This
A proposed IRS regulation would eliminate a tax shelter for private school donors in twelve states by making a commonsense improvement to the federal tax deduction for charitable gifts. For years, some affluent taxpayers who donate to private K-12 school voucher programs have managed to turn a profit by claiming state tax credits and federal tax deductions that, taken together, are worth more than the amount donated. This practice could soon come to an end under the IRS’s broader goal of ending misuse of the charitable deduction by people seeking to dodge the federal SALT deduction cap.
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September 26, 2018 Tax Cuts 2.0 – Georgia
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called… -
report June 27, 2018 The Other SALT Cap Workaround: Accountants Steer Clients Toward Private K-12 Voucher Tax Credits
On May 23, 2018, the IRS and Treasury Department announced that they “intend to propose regulations addressing the federal income tax treatment of certain payments made by taxpayers for which… -
blog May 22, 2018 Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019.
State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
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ITEP Work in Action March 15, 2018 Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Lawmakers Approve Major Tax Plan, Still Reviewing Several Tax Breaks
A range of tax bills are still in the pipeline at the General Assembly after lawmakers already approved a sweeping package of income tax cuts. Georgia’s 2018 General Assembly advanced… -
ITEP Work in Action March 9, 2018 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: All Georgians Stand to Lose from Immigrant Crackdown Measure
And Georgia immigrants contribute significant state and local tax revenue, including $352 million a year by undocumented immigrants as a whole and $66 million by Dreamers in particular. Read more… -
ITEP Work in Action February 22, 2018 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Lawmakers Might Come to Regret Georgia’s Risky Tax Plan
Bill Analysis: House Bill 918 Substitute (LC 34 5383-ECS); Feb. 22, 2018 Georgia leaders are now rushing a massive tax package through the state’s General Assembly with limited debate and… -
ITEP Work in Action February 16, 2018 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Governor’s Tax Plan Carries $1 Billion Price
Gov. Nathan Deal’s administration introduced a multifaceted tax package on Feb. 13, 2018 designed to reduce state revenues by about $1 billion a year over the next decade. House Bill… -
ITEP Work in Action February 1, 2018 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Immigrants Make Georgia Stronger and Better Every Day
Immigrant taxpayers contribute to Georgia’s bottom line. As immigrants start businesses, buy homes, earn wages and spend disposable income at local businesses, they generate considerable state and local tax revenue… -
ITEP Work in Action February 1, 2018 Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: People-Powered Prosperity
People-Powered Prosperity details a new vision for how state lawmakers can pursue strategies to help all Georgians thrive, as well as how the state can responsibly pay for it.
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December 16, 2017 How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect Georgia Residents’ Federal Taxes
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low-… -
blog December 14, 2017 Private Schools Donors Likely to Win Big from Expanded Loophole in Tax Bill
For years, private schools around the country have been making an unusual pitch to prospective donors: give us your money, and you’ll get so many state and federal tax breaks in return that you may end up turning a profit. Under tax legislation being considered in Congress right now, that pitch is about to become even more persuasive.
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report December 14, 2017 Tax Bill Would Increase Abuse of Charitable Giving Deduction, with Private K-12 Schools as the Biggest Winners
In its rush to pass a major rewrite of the tax code before year’s end, Congress appears likely to enact a “tax reform” that creates, or expands, a significant number of tax loopholes.[1] One such loophole would reward some of the nation’s wealthiest individuals with a strategy for padding their own bank accounts by “donating” to support private K-12 schools. While a similar loophole exists under current law, its size and scope would be dramatically expanded by the legislation working its way through Congress.[2]
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December 6, 2017 How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect Georgia Residents’ Federal Taxes
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of Georgia residents.
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November 14, 2017 How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect Georgia Residents’ Federal Taxes
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In Georgia, 60 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 19 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
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November 6, 2017 How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect Georgia Residents’ Federal Taxes
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate tax, become more generous over time. The result is that by 2027, the benefits of the House bill become increasingly generous for the richest one percent compared to other income groups.
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October 4, 2017 GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in Georgia with 74.8 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in Georgia equally. The richest one percent of Georgia residents would receive 74.8 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $552,200 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $83,070 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 4.0 percent.
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August 17, 2017 In Georgia 50.0 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
A tiny fraction of the Georgia population (0.6 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 50.0 percent of the tax cuts that go to Georgia residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 50.0 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 5.6 percent of the tax cuts.
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July 20, 2017 Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in Georgia with 58.5 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Georgia would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,892,900 in 2018. They would receive 58.5 percent of the tax cuts that go to Georgia’s residents and would enjoy an average cut of $120,130 in 2018 alone.
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blog May 17, 2017 Investors and Corporations Would Profit from a Federal Private School Voucher Tax Credit
A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and AASA, the School Superintendents Association, details how tax subsidies that funnel money toward private schools are being… -
report May 17, 2017 Public Loss Private Gain: How School Voucher Tax Shelters Undermine Public Education
One of the most important functions of government is to maintain a high-quality public education system. In many states, however, this objective is being undermined by tax policies that redirect public dollars for K-12 education toward private schools.
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blog March 31, 2017 All Is Peachy in Georgia, for Now
Georgia lawmakers ended their legislative session Thursday by enacting a few tax credits and smartly choosing not to pass a major income tax cut that had been working its way…