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DEL.ICIO.USCulled from the tax fight, then brought right back into it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When House Speaker Glenn Richardson sat down with reporters on Thursday, he wanted to talk about something — anything — other than property taxes.
So he dwelled on financing for a statewide trauma network (and Grady) with $10 car fees. Then he raised the topic of water and reservoirs. He thinks its possible to bring back Tom Murphy Lake in west Georgia, which other lawmakers — not him — deep-sixed in 2004. But it was unclear whether it would still be named for Murphy, the former House speaker.
Only then did Richardson talk about his decision, announced last week, to slim down his effort to eliminate all property taxes in Georgia.
He would ease into his revolution instead, by only targeting school property taxes — those funds would be replaced by an expanded sales tax on groceries, lottery tickets and the fees charged by people like plumbers and attorneys.
Politically, it makes sense. By leaving alone the property taxes that fuel county and city governments, Richardson could reduce the opposition that his plan had been generating from hundreds of locally elected officials.
But two new facets emerged from Richardson’s sit-down with reporters.
First, the speaker said that if cities and counties don’t want to give up their property taxes, they won’t be allowed to benefit from his revised plan.
Richardson said that the state would charge its 4 percent sales tax on lottery tickets and services. But he wouldn’t allow cities and counties to piggyback with the 3 percent or more that they normally assess —meaning local cities and counties wouldn’t get any extra revenue.
(Local governments already charge that 3 percent or more on groceries.)
In addition, the speaker emphasized that his revised tax package would include a cap on what local governments could raise from property taxes, via a formula that combined population growth and inflation.
It sounded much like the Tabor plan that the Senate has attempted to impose on state spending, and which Richardson and other House Republicans have resisted.
The key is that this cap that Richardson has proposed ensures that, rather than being pushed to the sidelines, the state’s city and county officials will remain a major part of the fight.
The Association County Commissioners of Georgia has picked up on this. Here’s the group’s analysis of the changes in the speaker’s plan, just posted on the its web site.
Comments
By Another taxpayer
December 8, 2007 6:28 PM | Link to this
If Richardson’s approach helps eliminate local government jobs, then I am all for it. Please get rid of county managers, tax appraisers, and commissioners. They serve no one but the special interests and the will to increase their own wealth at taxpayer expense.