The Georgia Senate has given its unanimous approval to a bill that proposes raising DeKalb County’s sales tax rate to 8 percent while also lowering residents’ property tax bills.
The Senate voted 47-0 on Wednesday for House Bill 215, which now returns to the House of Representatives for consideration of minor amendments. Voters would decide on whether to approve the tax changes during a referendum to be held if and when it's called for by DeKalb's elected county government leaders.
Sen. Fran Millar, R-Atlanta, told the Senate that the bill has broad-based support among DeKalb lawmakers, and it would protect existing cities from losing tax funds if new cities form. For example, under the county’s current tax structure, the cities of Brookhaven and Dunwoody could lose about $2 million a year from each of their budgets if a new city is created.
If the House approves this tax measure, it could clear the way for cityhood bills for LaVista Hills, Stonecrest and Tucker to be considered.
The 1 percentage point sales tax increase would be a special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) dedicated for improving DeKalb's outdated roads and infrastructure.
The tax would raise about $108 million annually — $80 million for the county and $28 million for city governments, according to the county.
The legislation also would increase property tax relief under DeKalb’s existing homestead option sales tax (HOST).
The change would allocate HOST distributions entirely for the purpose of reducing residential property tax bills. Currently, 80 percent of HOST funds go to property taxes and the rest is distributed to city and county governments.
Adjusting the HOST formula would result in about $21 million in tax relief each year.
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