ATLANTA (AP) – A flat 50-cent tax could soon be waiting outside for Georgians looking to hail a ride.
The Georgia Senate passed a bill Wednesday that combines two seemingly unrelated matters: a 50-cent tax on all rides from ride-hailing services, taxis and limousines and a state income tax exemption on relief payments made to farmers after 2018’s Hurricane Michael. It passed by a vote of 51-2 and will now go back to the state House for more debate.
Currently, state officials and ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft don’t see eye to eye on whether rides are subject to sales tax, which taxis and limousines have long paid. Uber and Lyft say they are not subject to sales taxes, which can be 7% or higher, and Uber has been disputing a $22 million tax bill.
The General Assembly passed a law earlier this year requiring third-party online marketplaces, including ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, to collect sales taxes on behalf of sellers beginning April 1. The legislation passed Wednesday by the Senate would exempt rides from sales tax charges and instead impose the 50-cent per ride flat tax.
“This bill is a compromise bill that we’ve worked on since last year that would eliminate the sales tax portion on ride shares but instead replace it with a flat excise tax,” said Sen. Steve Gooch, a Republican from Dahlonega carrying the bill in the Senate.