ATLANTA – State Representative Jesse Petrea (R–Savannah) announced today that he will introduce a bill to exempt military retirement income from Georgia income taxes. The legislation would be revenue neutral, and would be paid for by increasing the Georgia cigarette tax by 28 cents per pack.
“Like the majority of Americans today, I have had the opportunity to work and build economically at home due to the service of our veterans. Clearly our veterans sacrifice economically for their service to our country,” said Rep. Petrea. “With this tax break for veterans, we will not only be treating them as they deserve for their service, but we will also be incentivizing veterans to live and work in Georgia.”
Specifically, the bill would remove military pensions from Georgia income tax by increasing the Georgia cigarette tax from 37 cents per pack to 65 cents per pack. Currently, the Georgia tobacco tax is the 48th lowest in the United States.
The bill will be introduced in the 2016 session of the General Assembly, which convenes in January.
Representative Jesse Petrea represents the citizens of District 166, which includes portions of Bryan and Chatham counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2014, and currently serves on the Health & Human Services, Human Relations & Aging, and Public Safety & Homeland Security committees.
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