ATLANTA — House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s tax reform plan ran out of lives Wednesday as Democrats silently blocked it from receiving the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments.
The latest version of the plan would have eliminated the state tax on personal vehicles and put a limit on annual growth of property assessment and of local government spending.
It was a far cry from the proposal Speaker Richardson, R-Hiram, touted during the summer to eliminate all property taxes and replace the revenue with an expanded state sales tax.
“Democrats today voted against the largest tax cut in Georgia’s history,” Rep. Richardson said in written statement. “After a year of hearing from Georgians about how needed tax reform is, I am disappointed that the Democrats ignored the wishes of our citizens. Not only that, but they denied Georgians the right to vote to change the system.”
The proposed constitutional amendment would have needed two-thirds votes in each chamber, and a majority vote from Georgians during the Nov. 4 general election. The 110 “yes” and 62 “no” votes did not meet that requirement of 120 votes in the House.
Democrats opposed even the severely pared-down plan because it capped home property assessment increases at 2 percent and other property at 3 percent per year, and limited the amount local governments could raise in property taxes each year at the government price index, or about 5 percent.
They said the plan tied the hands of already under-funded school districts.
“There are other options than wrecking the way we run local government,” Minority Leader Rep. DuBose Porter, D-Dublin, said after the vote.
He said Republicans refused chances at compromise, which made it pointless for Democrats to take part in the debate on the House floor Wednesday.
Rep. Tom Dickson, R-Cohutta, was the only Republican to vote against the tax plan because it caps property assessments without regard for inflation rates.
“It makes no sense to cap it at 2 percent and inflation is at 5 or 6 percent,” he said. “School systems need the ability, if inflation rates go up,” to increase assessments accordingly.
Rep. Dickson, a former educator, said he agreed with most other parts of the legislation.
“If we were just voting for (removing) property tax on automobiles, I’d vote for it in a heartbeat,” he said.
Eliminating the ad valorem tax on cars would result in about a $1 billion tax cut on 7 million vehicles in the next two years, according to Rep. Richardson.
That’s why Rep. Martin Scott, R-Rossville, said he voted for the legislation. He said revisions had addressed his earlier concerns more property tax burden would fall on businesses.
“It would’ve been the largest tax cut in the history of the state of Georgia, and it’s absolutely shameful we did not get the support from the other party,” Rep. Scott said.
By the end of legislation’s many transformations, Rep. Roger Williams, R-Dalton, said it turned out to be “a pretty decent bill.”
He said he especially liked that the measure that would charge vehicle owners a $10 fee for trauma care. “We need trauma centers, especially in rural areas,” Rep. Williams said.
Both Republican and Democratic leaders said they are uncertain whether any funding mechanism for trauma care would emerge this session after the failure of Speaker Richardson’s proposal.
“They can’t say they are doing the legislation in the name of trauma care,” said Rep. Porter, adding the bill did not legally dedicated the $10 fee to trauma care.
Republican leaders claimed Democrats feared having Speaker Richardson’s tax proposal on the November ballot would bring out more Republican voters.
“I think some people who voted ‘no’ today will regret it in November,” Majority Leader Jerry Keen said.
Democrats answered that Republican motives were just as political to have such a measure on the ballot.
ON THE NET
S.R. 796: www.legis.ga.gov
