Georgians in both parties prefer property tax relief to scrapping income tax
Most Georgia Republicans favor repealing the state’s income tax. Most Democrats oppose the move.
But a majority of both groups would pick local property tax relief over eliminating the income tax if given a choice, a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey shows.
The poll results could fuel debate as Georgia legislators pursue competing visions for tax relief in the 2026 legislative session.
The Senate — led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — is studying ways to eliminate the state income tax. House Speaker Jon Burns has said property tax relief is one of his top priorities.
Neither leader has announced a specific proposal. But with gubernatorial candidates of both parties embracing tax cuts, tax relief will be a key theme of the legislative session that begins in January.
In an election year, the trick may be discerning which proposals please voters the most.
The AJC poll results are based on telephone surveys of likely Democratic and Republican primary election voters conducted in October. The surveys were conducted by The School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. They have a margin of error or plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The surveys found that 56% of likely Republican voters support or strongly support eliminating Georgia’s income tax even if it meant replacing it with higher sales taxes or taxing services that are currently exempt.
An additional 31% opposed or strongly opposed eliminating the state income tax, while 13% didn’t know.
AJC Democratic and Republican primary polls
AJC poll: Georgia Democrats express growing distrust in the election system
AJC poll says Georgia Democrats want a tougher response to Trump
AJC poll: Republican support for Trump remains strong in Georgia
Donald Trump’s endorsement is powerful but limited in Georgia, poll finds
PDF: Poll crosstabs
FAQ: How the AJC polls Georgia voters
Poll archive: View past AJC poll results
Cobb County resident Chris Williams said people should pay taxes on what they spend and consume, not on what they earn.
“If anything, people would spend more because they’d have more money,” Williams said. “I can do much more with my money than the government ever could.”
Democrats were solidly against eliminating the income tax: 65% oppose or strongly oppose the move. Only 24% supported eliminating the tax, while 11% didn’t know.
Chandler Anderson, a Mableton Democrat, thinks eliminating the income tax would require elected officials to raise sales taxes. He said the income tax — currently 5.19% and set to fall to 4.99% by 2027 — is a small portion of what he makes.
“I’m not making hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Chandler said. “I know this (eliminating the income tax) is going to disproportionately benefit people of higher income brackets.”
The partisan divisions echo the debate in the General Assembly earlier this year over the latest in a series of cuts to Georgia’s income tax rate.
Republicans generally favored cutting the income tax rate, saying it was necessary to promote economic development and to compete with neighboring states with lower rates or no income tax. Democrats generally opposed the latest cut, saying it disproportionately benefited the wealthy and could hinder the state’s ability to provide needed services.
If partisans disagree on the income tax, there seems to be common ground on property tax relief. the AJC survey found 54% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans prefer or strongly prefer cutting local property taxes over eliminating the income tax, if given a choice.
Likely Democratic voter Natasha Boles is no fan of the income tax, but she’d rather see property tax relief.
“You buy a home, it’s supposed to be yours,” Boles said. “You’re only taxed on a car one time. You’re only taxed on other things one time. The property tax would have to go.”
The choice between property tax relief and eliminating the income tax may play out in the upcoming legislative session.
Jones has made eliminating the income tax a centerpiece of his 2026 gubernatorial campaign. He’s commissioned a Senate committee to study ways to eliminate the tax. The committee is expected to announce its findings in December.
Eliminating the tax would be a tall order. The individual income tax generated $16.2 billion in revenue last year, while the corporate tax generated an additional $3.3 billion. That makes the income tax by far the state’s largest source of income. The sales tax is a distant second at $9.3 billion.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have a different focus. In September, Burns made it clear he supports property tax relief while continuing a gradual rollback of the income tax.
With $14.6 billion in budget surplus and “rainy day” reserves, legislators have wiggle room to grant tax relief. In recent years, Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican leaders have prioritized income tax refunds and rate cuts.
Kemp has not announced such plans for the 2026 legislative session.
About the Author
David Wickert writes about the state budget, finance and voting issues. Previously, he covered local government and politics in Gwinnett and Fulton counties. Before moving to Atlanta, he worked at newspapers in Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.
