ATLANTA – State Representative Brad Raffensperger (R-Johns Creek) recently pre-filed House Resolution 965, legislation creating a constitutional amendment to provide for a local referendum in each county on the question of limiting increases in local property taxes. Rep. Raffensperger also announced plans to file the enabling House Bill when the legislative session begins on January 11, 2016.
“This legislation would allow the people of Georgia to have more certainty in their family budgets by knowing that they will not be taxed out of their homesteads with perpetual increases in property tax reassessments,” said Rep. Raffensperger. “Our retired and aging populations did not receive a Social Security cost of living increase this year, and hard-working Georgians have only seen modest wage growth in recent years. Therefore, Georgia families have had no choice but to learn to do more while earning less. This legislation honors the principle of local control since the voters of each county will make the final decision within the county they reside. Furthermore, self-taxing CID and TAD commercial districts created for economic development and local revitalization would be exempted. This legislation offers a reasonable approach to limit reassessments to 2.5 percent, at most.”
HR 965 proposes an amendment to the State Constitution for a local referendum in each county to cap property tax increases at 2.5 percent per year, and will be known as “The Ad Valorem Tax Assessment Limit Amendment.” If approved by a majority of Georgia voters, and voters in the county, the referendum would affect each county individually, as well as all local taxing jurisdictions, including any municipalities and school districts.
Rep. Raffensperger also intends to file the enabling House Bill to ensure that self-taxing tax-allocation districts (TAD), Community Improvement Districts (CID) and other similar self-taxing districts will be exempted under HR 965.
“The present property tax system taxes property owners on artificial, unrealized values set by bureaucrats and allows local governments to raise property through “back door” assessment increases,” added Rep. Raffensperger. “This assessment cap protects all segments of Georgia’s society from our farmers in rural Georgia, to our working-class homeowners in our urban centers, and our suburban families, while exempting self-taxing CID and TAD commercial districts created for economic development and local revitalization. It is a true win-win for Georgia property owners, while still enabling modest increases due to inflation for the efficient operation of local governments. This bill goes to the heart of the importance of both local control and homeowner property rights, two cornerstones we cherish in Georgia.”
HR 964 will be formally introduced during the 2016 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly.
For more information about HR 965, please click here.
Representative Brad Raffensperger represents the citizens of District 50, which includes portions of Fulton County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2015 and currently serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Intragovernmental Coordination, and Juvenile Justice committees.
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