When House Bill 110, the bill legalizing the sale of fireworks in Georgia, passed during the 2015 session, many observers were pleased but unsure as to how much of an impact the industry would have on the state’s economy. After all fireworks, as flashy as they are, only really come out a couple times a year. Just two years after the law was passed however the state is seeing an explosive impact in terms of tax dollars pouring in from the new industry.
While sales started slow as fireworks stores and warehouses got set up in 2016, this year Georgia has seen sales increase dramatically as locals find they can make their purchases closer to home rather than at the warehouses with their giant signs just over the border in Alabama and South Carolina. $300,000 in tax revenue in 2016 has already turned into over $1,000,000 this year, a number which is sure to grow with New Years Eve, the other major fireworks holiday, still on the horizon.
Only two fireworks stores in the state are currently open year-round, but dozens more open up around major holidays to fill the needs of Georgians looking to put on their own aerial displays.
The bill, which mandates a 5% excise tax on all fireworks sales to go toward firefighter training and state trauma units, was a rather controversial one when it passed in 2015. Many hospital groups were in opposition, pointing out the devastating injuries that can come from fireworks accidents. So too were members of the House Health & Human Services Committee, including state Rep. Sharon Cooper who told IAG, “You can’t imagine what it’s like to have a child in a burn unit scream when you debride their skin. It’s just not worth it.”
The bill wasn’t considered by Health and Human Services however, it was the Regulated Industries Committee that worked on the bill and who eventually won the day. Supporters pointed out that millions of dollars worth of fireworks were being bought just outside the state’s borders and being brought back into Georgia, so why not get a foothold in a pocket industry that can bring in some much needed revenue to the state’s coffers?
