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History made
Senate passes significant income tax legislation
Steve Gooch
Steve Gooch
The Georgia Senate met for three legislative days during our eighth week under the Gold Dome with Crossover Day falling on Wednesday. After it was all said and done on Thursday afternoon, the Senate debated and voted on 72 pieces of legislation. Each of these address a variety of issues such as health care, transit, broadband expansion, higher education and election procedures. The most significant piece of legislation passed was House Bill 918 on Thursday, March 1. This day is a historic day because party lines were put aside and the people of Georgia were put first. We were able to come together to pass the first individual income tax cut since 1937 and the first corporate income tax cut since 1969. House Bill 918 would put Georgia’s “Internal Revenue Code” in compliance with changes made on the federal level with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Trump worked hard to implement. Under HB 918, a five year plan is presented that would lower personal and corporate top income tax rates. The income tax rate would be reduced from 6 percent to 5.75 percent in 2019 and would be further reduced to 5.5 percent in 2020, if approved by the General Assembly after a thorough review of the state’s economic outlook.