Gov. Brian Kemp made a stop in Augusta on Thursday to sign several bills into law, including House Bill 1015, which creates the largest state income tax cut in Georgia history.
During the signing, Kemp said each of the five bills, HB 1015, House Bill 581, House Bill 1021, House Bill 1023, and SB 496. he would be signing will benefit Georgians financially.
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“We know that when we grow our economy, we not only create generational opportunities for our citizens no matter their zip code, but we also increased the ability to keep more money in the pockets of hard-working Georgians,” Kemp said. “The bills that I will sign today do exactly that. That is thanks to our responsible, conservative approach to budgeting that we’ll be able to sign this legislation knowing that Georgia will still be financially sound no matter what economic fortunes are ahead of us in this state…each of the bills I sign today will also help hard working Georgians fight through high grocery prices, high energy prices and the inflationary environment that we have been under for several years now. Americans right now are having to spend $1,000 more each month than what they were doing three years ago for the same quality of life.”
HB 1015 was a top property for Kemp since it follows HB 1437, which was signed two years ago to lower the tax rate over time if economic conditions were met.
“With this legislation we’re accelerating that cut by another 10 basis points, bringing us immediately to a flat tax of just 5.39%. that is a cut of 36 basis points this year alone and it represents a savings of $3 billion dollars to our taxpayers over the next 10 years,” Kemp said.
House Bill 581 provides comprehensive property tax revisions and allows a constitutional amendment that will let counties to provide a statewide homestead valuation freeze.
“This limits the appreciation of property values to the inflation rate, helping prevent runaway property taxes and keeping Georgians in their houses,” Kemp said.
House Bill 1021 increases the state’s income tax dependent exemption by 33%, Kemp said. Each taxpayer would be allowed to deduct $4,000 per dependent, which is $1,000 more than the current $3,000 per dependent.
“Faced with rising costs from all things from groceries to childcare, this will provide meaningful relief for families fighting the negative effects and bad policies we’ve seen come out of Washington, D.C.,” Kemp said.
House Bill 1023 cuts the corporate income tax from 5.75% to 5.39% for the tax year 2024, making sure it matches the individual income tax.
“While we cut taxes for the people of our state, we also must ensure that we continue to attract jobs and investments to grow our economy and create more opportunity for all those who call Georgia home. This legislation, I believe, achieves that goal, by helping to keep our state the number one for business.”
Senate Bill 496 extends the sunsets on two tax credits. Kemp said the rehabilitations of historic homes and structures sunset is extended through 2029 and the rural zone revitalization credit is extended through 2032. The bill also expands the criteria for a home to be certified as historic.
Stephanie Hill is the managing editor and covers Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
