Battleground: Ballot Box - Lawmakers Huddle: The Push to End Georgia’s State Income Tax

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Georgia Sen. Blake Tillery calls for the elimination of the state income tax at the state Capitol on July 24, 2025.

Credit: Sarah Kallis/GPB News

Donna Lowry:  In recent weeks, Georgians have received tax rebates for the third year in a row. Now some lawmakers are looking to possibly offer more tax relief by eliminating the state income tax. Joining me on Lawmakers' Huddle is someone who knows all about the Georgia budget. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, Senator Blake Tillery of Vidalia, thank you for coming on Lawmaker's Huddle.

Blake Tillery: Hey, thank you, Donna.

Donna Lowry: You favor the, you are in favor of eliminating the state income tax, which is currently 5.19%. Why?

Blake Tillery: Well, I think it's about several reasons. One, I think we owe this to our taxpayers that we've got a surplus. Now, as you know, we've built up quite the reserve. They've been paying it in. So, we need to return the money to the folks who sent it to us to begin with. But it's about more than that. Another issue is competitiveness. Look at our neighboring states. Florida and Tennessee have figured out how to do their budgeting without an income tax. North Carolina and South Carolina are quickly on their way down to zero. If Georgia is going to stay competitive, we've got to do this, too. So, I would say it's about competitiveness. It's about economic freedom. And above all, it's about Georgians keeping more of their hard-earned money.

Donna Lowry: Georgia will be the ninth state?

Blake Tillery: The nine have already done it. We'd be the tenth and there's some metrics on other states that have done away with certain other taxes, but there's at least nine that have already gone away with their state income tax or never charged it to begin with.

Donna Lowry: The state is expecting to reach a flat tax rate of 4,99% by 2028. Why do more eliminating it altogether?

Blake Tillery: Right, again, I think it's about competitiveness. You've seen that other states are not stopping at 4.99. North Carolina's already shown they're going to go past that. Florida and Tennessee have already well surpassed that and hit zero. So for Georgia to remain competitive, and we believe that Georgia should, I think most Georgians believe that Georgia's the empire state of the South, then we've got to be competitive with our neighbors. And then again, above all, it's Georgia's keeping more of their hard-earned money.

Donna Lowry: So, when you say competitive, it's people moving in, companies moving in?

Blake Tillery: When folks are deciding to live in Georgia, you've probably heard it from your neighbors, folks who say, “Well, I'm just going to live across the line in Florida.” Well, it's not quite that simple, but it is when businesses are deciding where they're going to locate. If we want Georgia to continue to be the Empire State of the South, the leader in the Southeast, we've got to make sure that we're keeping up with what our neighbors are doing, figuring out how to be innovative with our own spending so that we can keep the tax burden on Georgians as low and as light as it possibly can be.

Donna Lowry: So, how will you approach the task of eliminating the state income tax?

Blake Tillery: Well, as you already know, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones has appointed a committee, a study committee that I will chair over the next several months. And we'll work closely with our colleagues in the Senate, with Lieutenant Governor Jones, just to chart a realistic and responsible path to eliminating Georgia's income tax. It's not something that I think I have to do by myself, obviously. We're going to do it in collaboration with our other Senate colleagues and with Lieutenant Governor Jones. And of course. You can't pass a bill in the legislature. Unless you're working with your colleagues and friends in the House, too.

Donna Lowry: So income taxes, of course, pay for government services such as education, public safety, infrastructure issues, so much more. Can Georgia survive without that revenue?

Blake Tillery: You know, I think we can, and the way that we know we can is that nine states have already figured a way to fund their education, public safety, their infrastructure, their healthcare, without having an income tax. Florida, being one example, folks always say, “Well, hey, it's because Florida has tourism.” Okay, well, does Tennessee have the same tourism? Does New Hampshire have the same tourism? What about Wyoming, or Montana, or Washington? Other states have figured out how to do. Their government services that we've talked about already, education, public safety, infrastructure, and health care without an income tax. If they can figure it out, I'm very certain that Georgia can too.

Donna Lowry: Well, as you know, critics say the money the state loses from income tax will have to come from another source. And that could mean higher sales taxes or an increase somewhere else. What do you say to that?

Blake Tillery: I think it's probably premature for me to prejudge the committee's work on what they will decide. I understand what my role is as chair and it's not to debate whether we should eliminate the income tax. It's to determine how we eliminate the income tax. But there's a committee set up to do that for a reason. I know what our end goal is. As long as we're going to zero, the mechanics of how we get there I do think are up for some discussion.

Donna Lowry: Now, who do you expect to hear from in the committee?

Blake Tillery: Several people one if this is a nationwide trend, and you've already seen states moving this way, I think we'll have some national leaders who can give us some advice on what they've seen nationally and the trends that have developed there. We also want to hear from the other states that have already done this. The thing I'd point out, Donna, is the states that have already eliminated their state income tax or never charged it to begin with, none of them are clamoring to create one. So, if they've done without one, aren’t clamoring the create one, they can share examples and insights on how they did it. So this isn't something that Georgia has to reinvent the wheel on. We can go learn the best practices and the techniques of others.

Donna Lowry: Anything else you want to add about this issue?

Blake Tillery: No, I'm so glad that everyone's looking at this and studying it now. The reason we have to do this is because we're just not operating in a vacuum. We've got neighboring states that are doing this. And it's about competitiveness. It's about economic freedom. And above all, it's about Georgians keeping the hard-earned money that they've already earned. If we can give every Georgia family a 5.19 or after next year, a 5.09 percent raise, then imagine what they can do with that money. I'm sure that Georgia families think they can spend their tax money better than the government does already. We want to do it in a way that is respectful of our goals and funds our core priorities --education, public safety, infrastructure, and health care that you've already mentioned. So over the next few months as we chart this through, as we work with our Senate colleagues, as work with the Lieutenant Governor, expect a plan that at the end charts a realistic and responsible path towards eliminating the state income tax. But rest assured, and let me be clear, the goal is to eliminate the state income tax. It is not debatable as if we're going to do that. The questions that we have to answer is how we do it and when we do it. I see.

Donna Lowry: Well, thank you, Senator Tillery, for coming on Lawmaker's Huddle.

Blake Tillery: Thank you. It's great talking with you. I hope you have a good rest of your afternoon.