{"63701":{"#nid":"63701","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Anti-Illinois: Georgia debates a tax reform with lower rates.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe genius of American federalism is that states can choose to walk off\na policy cliff\u2014or not. Illinois has just raised taxes, but Georgia may be\nmoving in the opposite direction by cutting taxes to make the state a more\nattractive destination for workers and business.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA bipartisan tax commission chartered last year by the legislature is\nproposing that Georgia cut its personal and corporate tax rates by a third, to\na flat 4% from a high of 6%. \u0022Our overriding goal was to get the income\ntax rate as low as possible, because the evidence is so clear that this is the\nbiggest driver of growth and jobs,\u0022 says commission member Christine Ries,\nan economist at Georgia Tech. The plan is a \u0022revenue neutral\u0022 shift\nto a cleaner and simpler state tax code.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo pay for the lower rates, the commission proposes to expand the reach\nof the state\u0027s 4% sales tax (6% in Atlanta and many localities) to groceries\nand many tax-exempt industries, ranging from auto repair to barbers to the film\nindustry. Predictably, businesses that don\u0027t pay tax now are lobbying to\nmaintain favored treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe plan follows the first principle of a sound and fair tax system:\nApply a low rate to a broad base. The most controversial change is the grocery\ntax, which liberal critics call a regressive levy on the poor. In fact, the\nproposal would increase the personal exemption to offset the food tax for\nlow-income families.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia\u0027s new Governor, Republican Nathan Deal, says he supports\n\u0022elements of the plan\u0022 without specifying which ones. The GOP controls\nmore seats in the legislature than at any time since Reconstruction, so a major\ntax reform is possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA reform that lowers rates would set Georgia apart from California, New\nJersey, Oregon and Maryland, which have all raised tax rates in the last decade\nonly to see millionaire incomes vanish and revenue decline. Georgia would be\nsmart to go even further and join the nine states, including Florida and Texas,\nthat have no income tax. But even the commission\u0027s reform would make the Peach\nState more competitive for job creation, and ultimately lead to a better\neconomy and higher tax revenues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EReview \u0026amp; Outlook\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWall Street Journal\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJanuary 19, 2011\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/public\/search?article-doc-type=%7BReview+%26+Outlook+%28U.S.%29%7D\u0026amp;HEADER_TEXT=review+%26+outlook+%28u.s.\u0022\u003EREVIEW \u0026amp; OUTLOOK\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EJANUARY 19, 2011\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWall Street Journal Online\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia debates a tax reform with lower rates."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA bipartisan tax commission chartered last year by the legislature is\nproposing that Georgia cut its personal and corporate tax rates by a third, to\na flat 4% from a high of 6%. \u0022Our overriding goal was to get the income\ntax rate as low as possible, because the evidence is so clear that this is the\nbiggest driver of growth and jobs,\u0022 says commission member Christine Ries,\nan economist at Georgia Tech. The plan is a \u0022revenue neutral\u0022 shift\nto a cleaner and simpler state tax code.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u0022Our overriding goal was to get the income tax rate as low as possible, because the evidence is so clear that this is the biggest driver of growth and jobs.\u0022"}],"uid":"27205","created_gmt":"2011-01-19 10:18:50","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:02","author":"Kari White","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"63095":{"id":"63095","type":"image","title":"Professor Christine Ries","body":null,"created":"1449176649","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:04:09","changed":"1475894552","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:32","alt":"Professor Christine Ries","file":{"fid":"191728","name":"christine_ries2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/christine_ries2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/christine_ries2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1421066,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/christine_ries2_0.jpg?itok=KbP6VNKf"}}},"media_ids":["63095"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/home-page","title":"Wall Street Journal Online"}],"groups":[{"id":"1282","name":"School of Economics"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"602","name":"economics"},{"id":"11682","name":"Georgia Tax Code Reform"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKari White\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Coordinator\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Economics\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["kari.white@econ.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}