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Small business leaders praise HB 808, urge tax cuts and generator credits after storm damage
Summary
NFIB and local officials told the Small Business Development Committee that recent changes to the tangible personal property exemption, proposed income tax cuts and a generator tax credit would ease burdens on small businesses recovering from Hurricane Helene.
Small business owners and local officials told the Georgia House Small Business Development Committee that recent and proposed tax changes would help businesses recover from storm damage and ease operating costs.
Allison Couch, a Columbia County commissioner and NFIB leadership team member, thanked lawmakers for passage of House Bill 808, which she said increased the tangible personal property exemption from $7,500 to $20,000 following voter approval in November 2024. "This tax is very much loathed by small business owners," Couch said, and she urged legislators to consider raising the exemption further to provide more meaningful relief.
Couch described severe effects from Hurricane Helene in Columbia County: prolonged outages, lost crops and damage to infrastructure. She estimated roughly "6,000,000 cubic tons of debris" from storm damage in her county and said many businesses were immobilized for weeks. Couch and other presenters said House Bill 425, which creates a tax credit for convenience store and grocery store owners who purchase and install generators, would help critical businesses resume service more quickly after future storms. Couch said her household relied on a generator for 17 days following the storm.
Speakers also discussed Governor Kemp’s tax proposal to accelerate a reduction in the state individual income tax rate from 5.39% in 2024 to 5.19% in 2025. Couch said lower individual rates can free dollars for small business owners who operate through pass‑through entities, enabling reinvestment in jobs and equipment.
Hunter Loggins of NFIB emphasized federal and state tax deductions important to small businesses and described the organization’s membership of about 7,000 Georgia small‑business owners. Committee members asked about targeting generator credits to critical services; presenters said the measure is meant to prioritize gas stations, grocery stores and nursing homes rather than making the credit broadly available to all small businesses.
Ending
Committee members acknowledged the storm testimony and thanked presenters; no formal vote occurred during the meeting.
