When you step into the voting booth this election, on top of making a choice for president, your congressional representative and other officials, you will be asked to vote on two constitutional amendments and one statewide referendum.
These ballot questions would impact your property taxes, establish a tax court and decrease how much small business owners pay in taxes.
Readers Ellen Ulken and Karl M. have asked about the proposed amendments and the referendum question. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke with some of the sponsors of the legislation that led to these ballot proposals as well as groups both for and against the initiatives.
Here’s what you need to know.
Constitutional Amendment One
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide by general law for a statewide homestead exemption that serves to limit increases in the assessed value of homesteads, but which any county, consolidated government, municipality, or local school system may opt out of upon the completion of certain procedures?”
WHAT IT WOULD DO: The first measure is designed to slow property tax hikes that occur when home values rise. If voters approve the amendment, home property assessments would be capped at the inflation rate for the previous year. By holding down assessment increases, property tax increases also would be limited since they are based on the assessed value of a home and the property tax rate.
The proposal also would allow local governments to use revenue from a 1% sales tax increase to lower property taxes if voters approve a local referendum to increase the sales tax.
If the constitutional amendment is passed, municipalities would have between Jan. 1 and March 1 next year to opt out of the cap. Local officials have to pass a resolution and hold three public hearings in order to opt out.
SUPPORTERS SAY: It would help homeowners who face big increases in their property tax bills.
“This was a response to so many complaints by property owners across the state that their taxes continued to rise and rise dramatically,” said state Rep. Dale Washburn, R-Macon, one of the sponsors of the legislation that led to the proposed amendment.
OPPONENTS SAY: Critics call it a regressive tax that would shift the tax burden onto the poorest Georgians and decrease funding for schools.
“We believe that those in a higher revenue bracket should proportionally be paying the same as those with less revenue, not a cap at the exact amount,” said Staci Fox, CEO of the nonprofit Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
She said schools rely on property taxes, so municipalities might increase other taxes to increase potential lost funding, such as raising millage rates, sales taxes, fees or fines on things like unpaid parking tickets.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Jan. 1, 2025.
Listen to experts explain Constitutional Amendment One in this excerpt from Politically Georgia AM:
Constitutional Amendment Two
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide for the Georgia Tax Court to be vested with the judicial power of the state and to have venue, judges, and jurisdiction concurrent with superior courts?”
WHAT IT DOES: This proposed constitutional amendment would create a state tax court responsible for handling complaints involving the state Department of Revenue.
Currently, the Georgia Tax Tribunal hears these types of cases. It is housed in the executive branch, and the governor appoints the chief judge.
Any appeals from the tribunal go to the Fulton County Superior Court because the tribunal is an administrative court in the executive branch. Additional appeals may then be heard by the Georgia Court of Appeals.
The constitutional amendment would do away with the tribunal and create the Georgia Tax Court in the judiciary branch. The new tax court would have a chief judge appointed by the governor, like the current process.
With the new Georgia Tax Court, appeals would go directly to the Court of Appeals instead of having to go through superior court first.
SUPPORTERS SAY: The new tax court would streamline the appeals process and make tax cases move quicker.
“There’s no problem with the judges that sit on the Fulton County bench. It’s just simply that’s a busy court already; it’s not an appellate court,” said state Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, one of the sponsors of the legislation behind the proposed amendment.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber, an organization focused on making the 29-county region an attractive place for businesses, helped write the legislation that led to the amendment.
“We argue that it creates less government because we’re taking an entire step out of the process, and we’re not adding new judges, we’re not adding staff,” said Leanna Brown, the chamber’s vice president of business climate.
OPPONENTS SAY: Setting up the new tax court would be costly and claims it takes away Georgians’ ability to represent themselves in tax cases.
State Rep. Derrick Jackson, D-Tyrone, voted in favor of the bill that led to the amendment, but he now is opposing the tax court. Jackson told the AJC he voted for the bill to try to get Republican support for Democratic legislation, but voted no on his ballot.
“Every year the judicial branch comes to us asking for more dollars, because they have a backlog and they need more staffing,” he said. “So if these existing courts ... are always asking for millions of dollars, then I think a new tax court is also going to be in the realm of seven and eight figures.”
EFFECTIVE DATE: The new tax court would begin administrative setup Jan. 1, 2025. Cases would follow the new appeals process starting in August 2026, Brown said.
What would Constitutional Amendment Two do? Here’s an expert explanation in this excerpt from Politically Georgia AM:
Statewide referendum
“Do you approve the Act that increases an exemption from property tax for all tangible personal property from $7,500 to $20,000?”
WHAT IT DOES: The third ballot question asks voters to increase the tax exemption for tangible personal property — such as business inventory and farm machinery — from $7,500 to $20,000. The tax break excludes motor vehicles, trailers and mobile homes.
Currently, business owners pay sales taxes when they buy equipment, then pay property taxes on the value of that equipment.
SUPPORTERS SAY: The measure would reduce unfair taxation on small business owners, which would allow them to reinvest the money saved into their business.
“The reason we raised that threshold was it hasn’t been raised in over 10 years,” said state Rep. Mike Cheokas, R-Americus, one of the sponsors of House Bill 808, the legislation that led to the referendum. “With inflation the way it is, it’s not hard with one computer, one copier and one desk to get over $7,500.”
The current tangible personal property tax “stifles growth and innovation because (business owners) don’t want to buy a piece of new equipment because they’ll just get taxed on it,” said Hunter Loggins, the Georgia state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, a small business association that helped write the legislation.
By increasing the amount of equipment that is exempt from taxation, that would owners to reinvest the savings into their business, Loggins said.
OPPONENTS SAY: Fox from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute calls it a regressive tax, shifting the burden onto the poorest Georgians.
The Georgia Municipal Association, a state organization that represents local governments, does not take positions on ballot referendums, but it did oppose HB 808 during the legislative session because it could decrease local tax revenue.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Jan. 1, 2025.
Listen to an explanation of the statewide referendum on the personal property tax exemption in this excerpt from Politically Georgia AM:
Staff writer Mark Niesse contributed to this article.
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