Georgia house speaker Glenn Richardson has unveiled portions of the tax scheme he's pitching on behalf of some Reagan supply-sider, a rundown of which sales tax exemptions are to be kept or tossed is listed here. This is interesting stuff! Peach Pundit has labled Speaker Richardson the "Tax Jesus", and it seems the savior of all property only rates Two Kings: the Medical and Farming industries. So this means the role of the third King is up for grabs. Considerations may be sent to Speaker Richardson's applicable fund gatherers.
My initial notes, as posted to Safe as Houses:
Now that we have some details, we may be able to add some voices beyond the local control issue. Lots of stuff to chew on over the next month or two. However, this list seems smaller than the list of exemptions. So, Beer Job #1: find out what isn't being advertised.
Has anyone considered the federal income tax effects of this shift? Last I checked, individuals can deduct either state/local income or sales (not both) taxes as part of itemized deductions. Property taxes are also deductible.
So basically, property owners who pay enough mortgage interest to itemize, and also deduct property taxes, shouldn't make a clean getaway with these changes.
Renters may want to itemize their sales taxes now, though. Save all receipts, etc. $5350 (in '06) is largely unreachable, but a 10% floor for deductible sales tax is not difficult: $800/mo rent + $20/mo water bill (before drought rate restructuring) + $300/mo food == 1120/mo == 537/yr. new sales tax @ 4%.
Also, I'm glad to see the state government intends to reclaim some of the enormous amounts of assistance granted to MARTA over the years. |
And in other news, I finally got off the couch and set this page's font to something useful: Lucida Console. If you don't have it, get it. |
