UPDATED: Property tax measures on the Ga. ballot this election

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Last edited Wed Oct 16, 2024, 12:43 PM - Edit history (1)

TL;DR - No on Amendment 1 - Yes on Amendment 2 - No on the Referendum.

A friend forwarded an email from Elena Parent (D - State Senate, District 44), who's a very smart, progressive state senator. Here's Elena's take (her comments on each one are indented):

Many of you have reached out for advice on how to vote on the amendments. Here's the skinny on my take.

Consitutional Amendment #1

Statewide exemption to local homestead tax: “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?”·

Purpose: Allows the Legislature to set statewide homestead property tax exemptions, aiming to reduce property taxes by limiting assessed value increases.·

Local Control: Enables local political subdivisions to opt in or out of the exemption program.·

Voting Impact: A “yes” vote authorizes new homestead exemptions to lower property taxes for homeowners; a “no” vote leaves current property tax laws unchanged. This amendment would implement a statewide exemption to the local homestead tax that uniformly applies to all counties, local school systems, consolidated governments and municipalities unless they opt out. The statewide exemption would freeze the values of all homesteads in Georgia based on a yearly assessment of consumer price index, meaning that the value of a home would go up the same percentage as the value of a home in a different part of the state. This could be good news for homeowners, who would see only more predictable, inflation-based jumps in their home’s assessed value, but is a blunt instrument that could have certain unintended consequences. Among those, many school systems say their operations could be hurt by dramatic cuts to funding if this were enacted.

The bill contains a procedure for county school systems to opt out of this uniform system of assessment increases. It is unclear how many county systems will attempt to opt out, but I expect some to do so. Like many laws, this proposal contains some potential good (and needed) outcomes and some potentially problematic ones. I voted no in the Senate and plan to vote "NO" on my ballot.

For more perspectives on this law’s potential impacts on the housing markets and school systems, please see:
taxfoundation.org/blog/georgia-property-tax-exemption-amendment-1
parkerpoe.com/news/2024/06/how-georgias-new-statewide-homestead-exemption-law-could

Constitutional Amendment #2

Tax Court Amendment (HR598): “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?”

HR 598 amends the constitution to delegate judicial power to the Georgia Tax Court and grants the Tax Court state-wide jurisdiction to address tax-related matters. Judges on the Tax Court will serve a four-year term, are appointed by the Governor, and may be reappointed for unlimited consecutive terms. Any vacancies will be appointed by the Governor.

Georgia Amendment 2 would create a tax court with statewide jurisdiction that would be concurrent with superior courts to address tax-related matters. Right now, the tax tribunal that hears tax cases is in Georgia’s executive branch, so Amendment 2 would establish a court in the judicial system. Judges would be appointed by the governor and approved by state legislative committees.

Currently, the Fulton County Superior Court hears appeals to any tax tribunal cases. This is not ideal, because the superior court is not meant to be an appellate court and does not specialize in tax law. Further, Fulton County Superior Courts have extremely busy dockets, so some feel that having them hear tax tribunal appeals is a burden. The amendment would ensure that the Georgia Court of Appeals would hear an appeal to a tax case decision.

I voted for this amendment in the Senate and plan to vote “YES” on my ballot.

Statewide Referendum Question

Personal Property Tax Exemption Increase Measure | (HB808):“Do you approve the Act that increases an exemption from property tax for all tangible personal property from $7,500 to $20,000?”

While the claimed purpose of this amendment is to alleviate tax burdens on small businesses by increasing the exemption on personal property fair market value to $20K, I believe legislation should be better targeted to capture small businesses only so that wealthy individuals don't benefit.

It is true that this tax exemption has not been increased since Georgia last raised the maximum threshold for a tangible personal property tax exemption in 2002, when voters passed a referendum to raise the limit from $500 to $7,500.

I voted against this in the Senate and will vote "NO" on my ballot. This amendment is not extremely problematic, but it does allow wealthy people to claim a tax exemption on things like boats, etc. It would also allow certain small businesses (like LLCs) to make tax exempt business purchases as advertised, but in my view, the Legislature could and should pass legislation that is more targeted to capture small businesses and leave out the benefits to people who don’t need it.

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Original post:
I’ve been trying to get a handle on the items below, which are on every Georgia voter’s ballot this General Election. I’m naturally skeptical of anything proposed by the Republican lackeys and crooks in the state legislature, of course. But, as a DeKalb County homeowner, I’m also tired of going through the runaround of protesting outrageous property tax increases on my decidedly non-luxury abode every time the assessment goes up (and losing my appeal). And, based on what I’ve been able to find, these measures passed in the state House and Senate by near-unanimous votes -- so it doesn’t seem there was any significant Democratic resistance.

Still, I want to make sure I’m doing my due diligence before voting early this week!

What do folks know or think about these measures? Will they deprive local governments of much-needed revenue for public schools, libraries, and infrastructure? Will they help prevent beleaguered homeowners from getting forced into selling because of exorbitant property tax bills?

I do see that local governments can opt out of the cap if they “complete specific requirements” (whatever those are). I also expect that some (or many?) counties and municipalities will get around any caps by just increasing the millage rate, thus complying with the letter of the law while still gouging homeowners.

Below the text of the ballot measures I’ve posted some resources I’ve used in my research so far. I’ll update this post if I find out more information to help make an informed decision. In the meantime, Georgia voters please add your thoughts to this thread.

Proposed Constitutional Amendments
- 1 -
Provides for a general law state-wide homestead exemption that may differentiate among political subdivisions.
House Resolution No. 1022
Ga. L. 2024, p. 1191
"Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide by general law for a state-wide 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?”

- 2 -
Provides for a state-wide Georgia Tax Court.
House Resolution No. 598
Ga. L. 2024, p. 1189
"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?"

Statewide Referendum Question
- A -
Raises amount of tangible personal property tax exemption from $7,500.00 to $20,000.00.
House Bill No. 808
Act No. 581, Ga. L. 2024, p. 696
“Do you approve the Act that increases an exemption from property tax for all tangible personal property from $7,500.00 to $20,000.00?”

References:

• Ballotpedia - https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Amendment_1,_Local_Option_Homestead_Property_Tax_Exemption_Amendment_(2024)


• Vote411 - https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote (enter your location info to get a sample ballot)


• Ga. Sec. of State “My Voter Page” - https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/


• AJC: ”Georgia voters will decide in November whether to limit property taxes; Ballot questions would cap increases in assessments and create a tax court” - https://www.ajc.com/politics/two-tax-amendments-to-georgia-constitution-put-on-the-2024-ballot/32CDNYT3UVHJXJSQR7LNSTK5U4/
  


• Parker Poe (law firm): "How Georgia's New Statewide Homestead Exemption Law Could Impact School Districts“ - https://www.parkerpoe.com/news/2024/06/how-georgias-new-statewide-homestead-exemption-law-could


• AJC: “Georgia lawmakers pass inflation-based cap on property assessments;
  Aim is to slow property tax increases” - https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-house-passes-inflation-based-cap-on-property-assessments/CCRA3RT67JBP5G6RMZ457PV75A/

[Pinback]

1. My additional thoughts

From a purely selfish Libertarian-ish perspective, as a homeowner who pays fairly hefty property taxes, these measures would probably benefit me personally. But I agree with Elena Parent that for the greater good we should not authorize changes that would deprive local governments around Georgia of much-needed revenue for public schools, libraries, et al. Add to this the fact that a Yes on all three would disproportionately benefit the wealthy, and I can wholeheartedly agree with her recommendations.

So for me it's No on Amendment 1, Yes on Amendment 2, and No on the statewide referendum.

Hope this info is helpful to my fellow Georgians who haven't voted yet.