House leaders announce proposed tax cuts for Georgians

ATLANTA - Georgian will be paying less income tax lawmakers introduces a new bill to lower the tax rates starting in 2024.

House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, and House Ways & Means Chairman Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, call it a historic income tax cut that would save Georgians an estimated $1 billion a year collectively along with other measures proposed this session.

The bill would lower the Georgia’s maximum income tax rate from 5.75 percent to a single, flat rate of 5.25 percent.

"Lowering taxes will let families keep more of their hard-earned money," said Speaker David Ralston. "In these times when Washington is letting inflation skyrocket, it is up to us to keep our state government lean and help Georgians when the cost of everything is rising. I am proud that this will mark the third time as Speaker that I will preside over the passage of a tax cut – another step in our continuing efforts to lower taxes for Georgia families."

"With this bill, we will not only save Georgians more than a billion dollars a year, but we will also have a fairer, flat income tax that is easier to understand," said Chairman Shaw Blackmon. "We are focused on implementing better tax policy to keep Georgia competitive."

The bill also would institute a standard exemption of $12,000 for single or head-of-household filers and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. That means a family of four would not have to pay taxes on the first $30,000 of income with the standard deduction and available dependent exemptions.

Lawmakers said the bill would not impact the state’s plans to raise pay for state employees and teachers or other proposed spending introduced this session.

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