by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service
SMYRNA – Gov. Brian Kemp had a pithy message as he signed two tax relief bills Tuesday.
“Tax cut bill on tax day,” the Republican governor exclaimed as he prepared to sign legislation accelerating income tax reductions the General Assembly put in place last year.
House Bill 111, which Kemp signed at an event inside the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre sponsored by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, will reduce the state income tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year.
The second tax relief measure Kemp signed Monday will provide a one-time rebate to Georgia taxpayers. Under House Bill 112, single tax filers will receive $250. A single filer who is the head of his or her household will get $375, and married couples filing jointly will receive $500.
The rebate legislation sailed through the General Assembly during the recently concluded legislative session without a single “no” vote. But House Bill 111 proved controversial, with Democrats arguing most of the benefits of the tax cut will go to upper-income Georgians.
Kemp defended both bills Monday before a crowd of state and local business and political leaders.
“We know this is your money, not the government’s, and we know you know best how to spend it,” he said.
The Georgia House of Representatives and the state Senate passed House Bill 111 largely along party lines.
Kemp was flanked by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, House Speaker Jon Burns, other Georgia lawmakers and state constitutional officers as he put his signature to the bills.
