(The Center Square) – Homeowners shouldn’t have to “pay rent to the government,” House Speaker Jon Burns said in proposing an end to homestead property taxes in Georgia.
The proposal is part of Burns’ legislative agenda, which doesn’t include a plan to eliminate property taxes approved by a Senate committee.
Burns is eyeing an end to property taxes on homes where people reside, leaving rental homes and other residential properties free for local entities to tax.
“For most Georgians, for the vast majority of Georgians, our homes are our single largest investments in our lives,” Burns said. “For that investment of a lifetime, I don’t think any of us in Georgia should ever face the possibility of losing that home because we can’t afford to pay rent to the government.”
Burns said a specific plan was still in development.
“Over the last couple of years as you know, and because of some successes in our state, property values have gone up dramatically,” Burns said. “They have gone up to a point where I don’t believe you an expect most Georgians to pay those property taxes in their homes. They can’t afford and we should not expect them to pay those level of taxes.”
Georgia lawmakers passed a bill in 2024 that would freeze property’s assessed value to the rate of inflation. The bill allowed taxing entities to impose a 1% sales tax to offset any losses to property tax revenue. But local governments could also “opt-out” of the freeze after holding three public hearings.
Burns did not mention a plan introduced by the Special Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax that would gradually reduce the tax to zero over six years.
Georgia couples filing jointly would see their income tax eliminated on the first $100,000 of income, beginning with the 2027 tax year, under the plan. Single Georgians would pay zero income tax on the first $50,000 of income.
The $3 billion for tax year 2027 would come in part from the state surplus, according to Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, chairman of the committee.
“You know we have for years now, cash-funded our bond program,” Tillery said. “We know we’re going to move back to a bond program now as the rates start to fall. If we move back from the cash to bond program that creates the last $1 billion needed for the $3 billion needed in plan one.”
The second year would look at the $30 billion in tax credits to fund the tax cut.
Burns said he wants to hear the details of the plan.
“There’s nothing we can’t talk about,” Burns said. “But we’ve always been a partner that felt like, and from a philosophical standpoint, that we can reduce our state income tax. So we’re very excited about what they’re doing.”
