GA Elections 2024: Here's Statewide Ballot Measures To Know

GEORGIA — Voters will head to the polls on Nov. 5, using their voices on three statewide ballot measures relating to taxation in Georgia.

The measures include establishing a tax court with judicial powers, making property worth less than $20,000 exempt from personal property taxes and exempting local option homestead property taxes.

See what to know below:

Tax Court Amendment (HR 598)

The Metro Atlanta Chamber is a proponent of House Resolution 598, which if approved, would create the Georgia Tax Court and permit it to have statewide jurisdiction.

The metro chamber said it advocated during the 2024 legislative session to turn the Georgia Tax Tribunal into a court so tax disputes are rapidly and fairly resolved.

The tribunal, formed in 2013, reviews tax cases involving the Georgia Department of Revenue, according to Ballotpedia. Currently, the tribunal is a member of the executive branch and not judicial.

"Replacing the Georgia Tax Tribunal with the Georgia Tax Court will provide Georgians with the operational clarity and certainty they need when resolving disputes with the Georgia Department of Revenue,” Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “It will help Georgians resolve important business cases faster, simplify government and save taxpayers time and money.”

The Georgia Tax Court would have the same jurisdiction as "the state business court and superior courts in equity cases," according to Ballotpedia. Under the tax amendment, superior courts would be able to order case removals to the business or tax courts.

Tax court judges would serve for four years and could be appointed by the current governor at the agreement of the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Judiciary.

Georgia Sen. Brian Strickland and Georgia reps. Shaw Blackmon, Charles Cannon, Todd Jones, Charles Martin Jr., Vance Smith and Bruce Williamson support HR 598.

There have been no public opponents of the measure.

Local Option Homestead Property Tax Exemption Amendment (HR 1022)

The fate of House Bill 581 is based on the passage of House Resolution 1022, which would permit counties, consolidated governments, municipalities or school systems to opt of tax exemptions.

HB 581, passed earlier in the year, limits "value increases of homestead property for maintenance and operation ad valorem tax purposes," according to Parker Poe Attorneys and Counselors at Law.

HR 1022 would impact homestead property assessments, limiting how much they can be raised annually based on the inflation rate of the previous year, Parker Poe said.

"For existing homesteads, in the 2025 tax year the base year assessed value is the 2024 value. For new homesteads, the base year assessed value is the homestead’s assessed value for the year preceding the year the new homeowner is first granted the exemption," Parker Poe said.

Unless school districts opt out of the exemption by March 1, 2025, Parker Poe said their homestead values would be curbed for the sake of local school district taxes.

Nonprofit The Tax Foundation, which is focused on nonpartisan tax policies, argued approving HR 1022 could potentially raise sales tax differences in Georgia counties.

HR 1022 could also generate difficulty for people looking to buy a home within their budget limits in 2025, the foundation said.

"Georgia residents’ assessments (for homestead properties) would not increase by any more than the rate of inflation in any given year. While this is welcome news for current homeowners, assessment limits frequently create a lock-out effect for new entrants into the housing market. Assessment limits cause this inequity by making it less advantageous for current homeowners to sell their homes and purchase new homes since the assessment limits reset to the new, current market value only upon purchase," the foundation said.

" ... Likewise, prospective homebuyers in 2025 and beyond will have a harder time accessing housing that fits their current budgets due to the unwillingness of current homeowners to list their houses on the market, and the disincentives this policy creates for new construction. This makes it harder for new residents to access housing and could discourage homeownership or shift purchasing patterns to less attractive options among the next generation of Georgia residents who are incentivized to purchase homes that they otherwise would not have purchased."

Georgia Reps. Shaw Blackmon, Beth Camp, Spencer Frye, Chuck Martin and Dale Washburn support HR 1022.

Personal Property Tax Exemption Increase Measure (HB 808)

Passing House Bill 808 would swell "the sales tax exemption threshold of tangible personal property from $7,500 to $20,000," the Georgia Chamber said.

According to the Reason Foundation, the chamber maintains HB 808 could be a positive asset to Georgia as it could motivate additional businesses to move into the state and would speak to Georgia's forward pro-business nature.

The Georgia Municipal Association largely opposed HB 808 but did not offer an explanation as to why. The GMA said HB 808 would not be enacted for cars, trailers and mobile homes.

Under the proposed bill, small businesses could exempt machinery, equipment, fixtures and supplies from property taxes, The Tax Foundation said.

HB 808 would affect compliance costs but would minimally influence state government, the foundation said.

Georgia Reps. Mike Cheokas, Matt Dubnik, Karen Mathiak, Alan Powell, Jason Ridley and Bill Yearta support HB 808.