Senate panel advances plan to eliminate income tax for most Georgians, sunsets credits to pay for it

A Georgia Senate committee on Monday voted 9–3 to advance a package of bills that would eliminate the state's income tax for many households by sharply increasing the standard deduction and rolling back or sunsetting dozens of tax credits.

Senator Tillery, who presented the legislation, said the centerpiece—Senate Bill 476—raises the standard deduction to $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for married filers and pairs that change with targeted cuts to existing income-tax credits. "This bill does everything we said and does not create or raise a new tax," Tillery said, arguing the plan channels benefits first to middle-class families while trimming or ending credits that largely flow to corporations.

The committee's plan also adopts a modest rate cut the governor proposed (from 5.19% to 4.99%) and applies a five-year sunset (through Dec. 31, 2031) to many income-tax credits that previously lacked expiration. Tillery said eliminating 1 percentage point of the flat rate costs roughly $3 billion and that increasing the standard deduction as proposed would cost about $3 billion in the first year, with some multi-year…