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Community Corner

Road Kill, Courtesy of New Tax Laws

By the time you read this, you'll likely be just that.

Editor's Note — Shortly before the publication of this column, various news outlets reported the tax overhaul effort was dead for the session.

I was all set to do another editorial number on the by now infamous but very highly detailed Congressman Paul Ryan's proposed GOP federal budget, but matters closer to home have called me away.

Whereas Ryan (R-WI) has dutifully been offering up his hokum and budget for the better part of weeks, if not months, here in Georgia, the numbers behind the largest tax "reform" in several generations have been kept mostly under wraps. Where the Ryan budget can be held up to some independent scrutiny, as it should and must, no one has any real idea of what's actually in the proposed "newly revised" wholesale tax changes being proposed down in Atlanta, "under the Gold Dome."

But they're still due to be voted on sometime on Monday, sight unseen by many of the legislators who'll be voting on the proposals. I particularly enjoy the comparisons with Nancy Pelosi here that even some GOP stalwarts are making now, but giving just one day to overhaul much of the Georgia tax system is a pretty tall order. Maybe, just maybe, someone other than the hyper-partisan GOP needs to be able to "score" this bill (HB 388)? I mean at the moment, we've just got the word of a very few party folks who have been allowed to "peek" at the bill before it's voted on. 

The last version seen by the public of HB 388 last week would blow a hole in the budget of upwards of $300 million, as scored by the independent analysis of the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute.

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The Georgia GOP now claims this would "only" be about a $220 million loss of revenue, but promises again that "everyone will get a tax cut."

Well isn't that special! Magical too. Still, you're going to shackle our kids to pay for your lovely tax cuts today. Again. Sort of like bribing the kiddies with ice cream, it's supposed to work like a charm every time!

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But recall that our state budget must be balanced each year. And that the tax proposals were supposed to be "revenue neutral" at worst. Why put us all further in a hole to dig out of and call it "reform?" Is this useful, prudent or even "wise, just and moderate," as that now weary Revolutionary-era solider standing guard on our state seal might ask? It's sort of like repeatedly gambling with the future, right? 

Worse, the details of the last/former/remaining proposal on HB 388 were just so egregious. As described in the GBPI analysis, "More than 46 percent of the income tax benefits included in HB 388 would go to those earning at least $500,000 (0.6 percent of all tax filers) at an average tax break of nearly $11,000. Those making under $100,000 (89 percent of all tax filers) will receive an average income tax cut of only $42. Many of those who make less than $100,000 could actually see a tax increase if they get their car repaired, use telecommunication services or purchase a used car from an individual."

As the AJC found when consulting tax experts from Georgia State University at the behest of Rep. Stacey Abrams, Democratic House Minority Leader, this meant that the last published bill actually had significant tax increases for "those making between $20,000 and $180,000, who do tend to itemize" but "those who make more than $180,000 would see significant tax cuts. For those with incomes of more than $500,000, the tax cuts would average 16 percent."

So what if you want to sell your clunker or repair it, use your cell phone or buy a satellite TV system? The Georgia tax man is now coming for you. That's undeniable, and these new sales taxes are still in the newest version of HB 388. Again from the AJC: "Abrams points out, a new sales tax on auto repairs would also push your auto insurance rates higher. Approximately 40 percent of auto-repair work in the state is paid for by insurance companies, and they would have to pay the new sales tax on that work as well. Overall, Georgia insurers would pay an estimated $39 million in state sales tax on auto repairs, which they would pass along to their customers". 

Want to bet that most of the the new income tax breaks are still similarly skewed to benefit the well heeled and well off? Tax cuts for the rich, program service cuts for the poor and needy, and middle class tax increases to pay for it all. That's been in the GOP DNA for longer than anyone cares to imagine. And it's been causing needless suffering and repeated depressions and recessions since the 19th Century.

It's a sure and consistent recipe to provide aid and comfort to the comfortable and few others at the expense of the many. It's high time more people start noticing, too. Call your local representatives to try and stop this abomination before it's too late.

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