Breaking: Report calls for tax hikes, cuts to fund transportation

A long-awaited blueprint for meeting Georgia’s future transportation needs calls for a mix of tax increases, tax cuts and a historic commitment to the growth of transit, according to advance copy of the report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The final report of the Joint Study Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Funding, landing in lawmakers' inboxes today, does not make specific recommendations on raising the estimated $1 billion to $1.5 billion in new money the state needs.

Instead, it offers a buffet of options, from creating a new 1-cent statewide sales tax, with half the proceeds going to cut the state income tax, to combining the state’s two existing fuel taxes to dedicating the “fourth penny” of the sales tax on gas to transportation.