Atlanta (AP) – As the 2026 elections, the Georgia Republicans looking for a higher service, met on Tuesday to start exploring Georgia’s plans to eliminate state income tax.
Republican claimants for the Governor of Lieutenant sat on the committee led by Republican Burt Jones, who is currently playing the role and is running as governor with the approval of US President Donald Trump.
“If we want to continue to remain competitive in Georgia and continue to be the number one state to do business, we must look for ways to keep us competitive and to do it where we have a competitive advantage over countries that we compete all the time,” Jones said.
Most of the group’s legislators praised the idea as such that will help working families and small businesses after hearing Grover Norquist, president of Americans for tax reform and a prominent conservative lobbyist to reduce taxes.
Currently, eight states, including Florida and Tennessee, do not tax the income of persons, according to the Tax Foundation, a brain trust of tax policy. Other countries, including North Carolina and Louisiana, have reduced income taxes or are about to eliminate them.
In Georgia, Democrats oppose the idea, saying that this will be beneficial for the wealthy rather than low -income people who will face other taxes. Atlanta Democrats Senator Nan Orock said on Tuesday that the removal of income tax would harm vital services throughout the country by reducing state revenue, especially against the backdrop of federal cuts of programs such as food brands, gratuitous education and disaster relief.
“I can also continue with the needs we now have in many areas that would argue that they have stable revenue to meet the needs of our citizens,” Orock said.
Norquist said countries still generate revenue after reducing income taxes. One of the reasons is that when businesses know that countries are about to eliminate taxes on income, he said, they start investing there and residents also flow.
“When you attract more people in the country and more investments in the country, you also end with more money for individuals, but also more tax revenue at lower rates,” Norquist said.
Georgia income taxes are expected to bring $ 20 billion to the state in 2026, representing almost half of the state revenue, according to a budget and a political institute in Georgia
Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Camp has signed a law this year discounts up to $ 500 and reducing taxes to 5.19% in January for all income earned in 2025. This is part of the long -term revenue on George’s Georgi Tax at Georgia’s Income Georgia in Georgia in Georgia in Georgia in Georgia in Georgia in Georgia in Georgia in Georgia in George rate to 4.99%Which can happen next year. The law has already taken the former Georgia tax bracket system and has created a flat income tax.
The state has also paid discounts on taxpayer income taxes in recent years, thanks to billions in excess money,
Higher income taxpayers collect the most benefits of reducing income tax. The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy found that two -thirds of income tax reduction benefits would flow up to 20% of Georgians. Republicans said this was natural because most Georgians in the lowest 20% of income distribution are excluded most from state taxes on income.
Democratic candidates for governors have not ruled out tax reductions. Former Mayor of Atlanta Cisha Lance Bunds has suggested that the state tax on teachers’ income in public schools be removed, but said the removal of income taxes would harm school financing and increase the cost of lower-income families.
Republicans are still moving forward.
“While the mechanics is prepared for debate, I think it is clear that the ultimate goal is not,” said the chairman of the Budget Loan Committee Blake Tilly, a Republican of Vidalia, who is running for a Governor.
___
KraMon is a member of the Associated Press/Report body for America Statehouse News Initiative. The report on America is a non -profit national service program that raises journalists in local news halls to report insufficiently concealed issues.