Senate panel meets on “fair tax”

A state Senate committee held its second meeting Friday on whether Georgia should consider “Fair Tax” reforms, including a reduction or even elimination of state income taxes.

The issue is unlikely to gain traction by January, when lawmakers come back to Atlanta for their next legislative session. That’s because while state leaders have enacted tax changes over the last several years, they have been hesitant to do anything too major as the state has struggled to recover from the recession.

Still, the committee chairman, Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta, said he wants testimony to inform future discussions about the state’s tax code. With plans to hold hearings across the state curtailed, Hill said he now expects to hold a third meeting in Atlanta around the end of October. The committee will issue its findings by the end of the year.