For Georgia, the fourth-fastest-growing state in the U.S. and home to the fastest-growing metro area, continuing to grow responsibly while participating in a global economy is critical to its long-term health. But the state will need continued investments in education, transportation and health care to make that happen.

Paying for these critical public services, ones demanded by both the state's residents and its business community, requires fiscally responsible tax reform. Unfortunately, House Speaker Glenn Richardson's tax reform proposals (HR 1246 and HB 979) fail the test of fiscal responsibility and threaten to harm the economic engines that drive Georgia's success.

Fiscally responsible tax reform would help, not hurt, the areas so key to the capital investment and economic development critical to a prosperous and healthy Georgia. Instead, the speaker's proposals to eliminate some property taxes in favor of added sales tax would leave the state facing an $827 million budget shortfall. The revenue drop is the same as cutting 10 percent of the K-12 education budget, eliminating altogether the budget for PeachCare —- the health insurance program for low-income children —- plus a third of the Medicaid budget, or getting rid of two-thirds of the budget for the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Since 75 percent of the state budget funds education, health care and criminal justice, it can't be balanced under the speaker's proposals without some combination of deep cuts to these services. An $827 million budget shortfall will also make it extremely difficult to improve our scandalous mental health and child protective services systems.

Tax reform should also spread obligation among taxpayers across Georgia. Instead, Richardson's proposals would disproportionately benefit those with high incomes and expensive homes. Low- to middle-income Georgians already pay a higher percentage of their income in state and local taxes. Swapping property taxes for more sales taxes will only make it worse.

The state's current tax system is outdated and needs modernization. But eliminating property taxes, a reliable revenue stream, in favor of sales taxes, which are tied to the ups and downs of the economy, is not the reform we need.

Tax reform in Georgia can be accomplished by targeting property tax relief through a property tax circuit breaker. Property tax circuit breakers work to keep property taxes within a reasonable level for homeowners who are at risk of being overburdened. A circuit breaker ties tax burden to a homeowner's ability to pay. A 3 percent circuit breaker, for example, would mean that a resident under a certain income level would be reimbursed by the state for any property taxes paid that are over 3 percent of his income. Most states have such relief programs.

Additional tax reform can be accomplished by expanding the sales tax base, modernizing the income tax and eliminating wasteful and unnecessary special interest tax breaks. Georgia can deliver tax cuts to millions of its residents while still assuring an adequate, balanced and fair tax system.

The speaker's proposals won't keep Georgia moving forward. In fact, his risky ideas for reform would set the state back for generations. What we need is a reasoned plan for reform that adds up and provides adequate revenue while putting in place a fair tax system for all Georgians.

> Allan Essig is executive director of the nonprofit Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.