Among a few other things on the November ballot, a constitutional amendment will be voted on that will create the Georgia Tax Court. The legislation to allow for voting on the amendment on the ballot passed overwhelmingly – unanimous 165-0 in the House and with one lone dissent in 50 seat Senate.
The state currently has a Tax Tribunal, which was created in 2013, that can review cases involving the Georgia Department of Revenue. The Tribunal is not part of the judicial system but contained within the executive branch. The new court would have some further details hammered out by the legislature, including number of judges and qualifications to serve. The length of term is already set at four years, with an appointment by the government and approval by the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber helped to lead the effort during the legislative session to push for passage of the amendment vote. The goal would be to transform the existing system into more quickly and fairly resolved disputes.
“Replacing the Georgia Tax Tribunal with the Georgia Tax Court will provide Georgians with the operational clarity and certainty they need when resolving disputes with the Georgia Department of Revenue,” said Katie Kirkpatrick, president & CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “It will help Georgians resolve important business cases faster, simplify government, and save taxpayers time and money.”
As it stands now, cases are required to first go to the County Superior Court for appeal but the Tax Court’s status would be equal to Superior Court, allowing appeals to go directly to the Georgia Court of Appeals, potentially saving months and years of time to get on the dockets. That same County Superior Court that is the current destination for appeals is responsible for criminal cases, resulting in long schedules for resolution.
If approved, the Georgia Tax Court would begin administrative set up starting in January of next year and would begin hearing cases in July of 2026. This schedule would allow the legislative two full sessions to deal with the administrative side and funding.
Business groups across the state are advocating for passage of the amendment, ensuring Georgia’s pro-business climate continues and improves. If past is any prologue, the constitutional amendment has a solid chance of passage. According to Ballotpedia, in a 20-year period from 2002 to 2022, 36 constitutional amendments have been on the ballot – 30 of them were approved.
To learn more: https://georgiaqta.com/
