State House of Representatives approves Kemp’s income tax refund

The Georgia House of Representatives Thursday approved Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to provide Georgia taxpayers with state income tax refunds this year.

Single taxpayers or married taxpayers filing individually are set to receive $250. A head of household would receive a $375 refund, and married couples filing jointly would get $500. The $1 billion to cover the cost of the refund would come from Georgia’s record budget surplus.

“We’ve had a surplus in Georgia,” said Rep. Lauren McDonald, R-Cumming, the bill’s sponsor and the governor’s floor leader in the House. “It’s our responsibility to give the money back to the taxpayers that’s theirs.”

The only change this year is that people who are claimed as dependents can also get the $250 tax refund. This would allow young people such as high-school students who also work to reap the benefit, McDonald said.

Rep. El-Mahdi Holly, D-Stockbridge, voted in favor of the bill but suggested that the House should in the future approve a state tax credit similar to the federal earned income tax credit for low- and middle-income families.

The bill passed nearly unanimously, with a 170-2 vote. Reps. Al Williams, DMidway, and Spencer Frye, D-Athens, were the sole no votes.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

The state House Thursday also approved a resolution retroactively approving Kemp’s executive orders from last year that temporarily suspended the state’s

gasoline tax. “The governor’s actions delivered much-needed temporary relief to Georgians at the pump, which saved taxpayers approximately $1.7 million,” said Rep. Matthew Gambill, RCartersville, the resolution’s main sponsor.