Georgia voters turned out in record numbers to cast their ballots Tuesday as early voting kicked off for the Nov. 5 General Election. By the end of the day, 305,900 votes had been cast in person, topping the 136,000 votes cast in 2020. While the Presidential race is drawing all the attention, Georgia voters are also casting their ballots for or against three state measures related to taxation.
Here’s what you need to know about the three questions on the ballot:
Georgia Amendment 1 would implement a statewide exemption to the local homestead tax that uniformly applies to all counties, local school systems, consolidated governments and municipalities unless they opt out.
The statewide exemption would freeze the values of all homesteads in Georgia based on a yearly assessment of consumer price index. It would set limits on how much home values can rise based on inflation and introduces a new local sales tax option for property tax relief.
The amendment, proponents say, would create more uniformity across the state and continuity from year to year.
If passed, local governments would have until March 2025 to opt out.
Georgia Amendment 2 would create the Georgia Tax Courts to handle cases involving tax disputes, appeals from taxation decisions and rules of the state revenue department.
The Georgia Tax Court would replace the current Georgia Tax Tribunal, moving from the executive branch to the judicial branch.
The amendment would ensure that the Georgia Court of Appeals would hear an appeal to a tax case decision.
Georgia Referendum A would increase a property tax exemption for tangible personal property worth $7,500 or less to properties worth $20,000 or less. Georgia last raised the maximum threshold for a tangible personal property tax exemption in 2002, when voters passed Referendum E to raise the limit from $500 to $7,500.
Personal property worth $20,000 or less (except for cars, trailers and mobile homes) would be exempt from taxes. This applies to items such as machinery, equipment and furniture.