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House subcommittee hears measures to accelerate income tax cut, issue $1 billion refunds
Summary
The House Ways and Means subcommittee held first hearings on HB111, a proposal to accelerate an ongoing individual income tax rate reduction, and HB112, a bill to return roughly $1 billion to taxpayers through fixed refunds; both were presented as hearings only and will return for further consideration.
House Income Tax Subcommittee — The House Ways and Means income tax subcommittee heard presentations on two governor-backed measures that would accelerate Georgia's recent individual income tax reductions and provide one-time refunds to eligible filers.
Representative Sue Hong presented House Bill 111, saying the measure would accelerate the income tax rate reduction enacted in 2022 (HB 1437) and would move the rate by an additional 20 basis points, which she said would save taxpayers “approximately $880,000,000.” Representative Sue Hong said the proposal would reduce the individual income tax rate toward roughly 5.19 percent for tax year 2025.
The subcommittee also heard House Bill 112 from the governor’s floor leader, who described a separate refund mechanism that would return a fixed amount to eligible filers for tax years 2023 and 2024. The floor leader said the bill would deliver $250 for single filers, $375 for heads of household and $500 for married couples filing jointly, and that the package would total “a billion dollars returned to the taxpayers of the state of Georgia.” He said refunds would likely be issued as paper checks in June or July to taxpayers who filed returns for the covered tax years.
Nut graf: Supporters said accelerating the cut continues a multi-year rollback begun in 2022, and they framed the package as returning money to taxpayers during persistent inflation. Opponents on the panel urged caution and pointed to fiscal uncertainty; the chair ordered a fiscal note on HB111 and emphasized this was a hearing-only presentation to ensure fuller review before any committee action.
Committee discussion focused on fiscal and timing concerns. Representative Buckner and others said recent tax changes leave limited time to observe long-term effects and urged caution before accelerating cuts further. The chair reminded members that the proposals remain subject to the statutory “triggers” and that a fiscal note will be prepared for HB111. Proponents cited regional competitiveness, noting neighboring states without an individual income tax.
The presenters described implementation details for HB112: taxpayers must file returns for 2023 and 2024 to be eligible, and some taxpayers who pay no income tax because of exemptions would not receive a refund. The floor leader said the administration intends to issue refunds by paper check to qualifying taxpayers who paid at least some tax in the specified years.
Ending: Both measures were presented for a first hearing and no formal vote was taken. Committee members asked sponsors to return with additional information, and the chair scheduled the bills for follow-up consideration and a fiscal review for HB111.
