The president of the Georgia Association of Educators is proposing a half-cent sales tax increase to make up for state cuts and what he calls a downward spiral that started in the 1980s.
GAE President Jeff Hubbard said a temporary half-cent sales tax would help counter almost $2 billion in austerity cuts since 2003 and underfunding of the Quality Basic Education program ever since the 1980s.
Stimulus funding offset austerity cuts by almost $1 billion, or the situation would have been “much, much worse,” he said.
“We understand that the concept of any tax at this time could be controversial, but we also understand that 1.75 million children show up in Georgia schools on a daily basis and we must, per the Constitution, provide them a free education,” Mr. Hubbard said.
The tax would amount to 50 cents more on a $100 purchase, he said. The tax would sunset once revenues and investments reached “certain levels,” he said, but he didn’t describe those levels.
“We think that is a small price to pay to give our children a fighting chance at a quality education,” he said.
The GAE isn’t alone in pushing a sales tax increase.
Rep. Rusty Kidd of Milledgeville, the Georgia House’s only Independent and a 1965 Baylor School graduate, has proposed a temporary 2-cent increase to boost state revenues back to 2006 levels and help all state services, including education. The bill hasn’t been introduced yet.
Rep. Kidd said he wants to give legislators an option that has a safeguard for taxpayers.
“What we could do is freeze state spending at the 2006 level,” he said. “A two-cent sales tax increase would fill the gap up to a 2006 level.”
GEORGIA’S K-12 AUSTERITY CUTSState funding cuts have continued since 2003. Stimulus funding offset total cuts by about $1 billion.2003: $134,933,6422004: $283,478,6592005: $332,838,0992006: $332,838,0922007: $169,745,8952008: $142,959,8102009: $495,723,8302010: $936,342,040Total: $2,828,860,067Source: Georgia School Superintendents Association and the Georgia Parent Teachers Association
Any excess revenue would go into a reserve account until Georgia’s revenue equals 2006 levels and the tax is repealed, he said.
He said he expects a hearing on the proposal next week.
But will majority House members support either idea?
Rep. Jay Neal, R-LaFayette, said the majority’s intent is to “balance the budget with budget cuts and not raise taxes.”
Rep. Neal said lawmakers are at the point where every cut hurts.
“You could make an argument for either side,” he said Friday. “Maybe we’re now at the point that making additional cuts would be more painful than raising some revenue.”
Legislators probably will have to look at all options, “but I don’t know how much support will be out there for any kind of taxes,” he said.
Mr. Neal said the economic downturn halted efforts to restore money lost in the austerity cuts.
“In 2009 we actually had a plan to fully restore the cuts, and then revenue started turning down,” he said. “We had to back off our plan to restore and ultimately had to increase the cuts.”