House GOP’s property tax relief plan prompts debate over public service funding

Georgia state House Republicans have a proposal to help tame the affordability crisis: end property taxes for homeowners by 2032. Party leaders say their proposal, which would benefit Georgians who own and live in their home, will put money into peoples’ pockets where it belongs. But the proposed shakeup has municipal and county governments, as […]

Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns unveiled the chamber’s proposal to cut property taxes on the Capitol’s South Steps on Jan. 28, 2026, in Atlanta. Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder

Georgia state House Republicans have a proposal to help tame the affordability crisis: end property taxes for homeowners by 2032.

Party leaders say their proposal, which would benefit Georgians who own and live in their home, will put money into peoples’ pockets where it belongs.

But the proposed shakeup has municipal and county governments, as well as public school systems, struggling to understand how their traditional method of funding services will be affected.

The ambitious tax change has the support of all 99 House Republicans, according to House Speaker Jon Burns.

“This historic tax relief will be delivering on our commitment to make life more affordable for our neighbors across this entire state of Georgia, starting where it matters most, at home,” said the lawmaker from Newington, at a Jan. 28 press conference, holding a copy of House Resolution 1114.

Burns’ plan also limits property tax revenue growth to 3% a year for each county, city and school board. That would limit local officials from recouping funding lost from property owners by shifting a tax burden to owners of rental homes or commercial and industrial properties.

Passage is no sure thing before the legislature ends its session April 2. Burns would need 21 Democratic votes for the supermajority it would take just to get the ambitious rewrite of the tax code through his chamber to the Senate. Meanwhile, state Senate Republican leaders have a separate plan to end personal income taxes, rather than property tax reform.

County and municipal leaders have yet to weigh in on the property tax proposal, but in other states alleviating such taxes have ended up moving the burden of funding local public schools and services in other ways, including through higher sales taxes, new homeowner fees or assessments.

Billions, one house at a time

About two-thirds of Georgia households own a home. If it’s their primary home, they get a “homestead” exemption on their local property taxes — that is, they don’t pay taxes on the full value of their house. Disabled veteran, senior and some other property owners can receive more exemptions that further reduce property tax amounts.

Investment properties, vacation cabins and other second homes do not get a homestead exemption.

Public school systems collected an estimated $2.5 billion in taxes on homesteaded houses statewide in 2025, according to the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. Cities and counties collected at least $1.7 billion, according to the same data, which is not yet finalized.

Those amounts don’t include some populous counties like Fulton and Chatham. The association is still validating those amounts.

The funding from property taxes fuels government services in each of  Georgia’s 159 counties, 180 school districts and more than 500 cities.

For example, Glynn County Schools collected about $23 million from homesteaded properties in 2025. Glynn County and Brunswick collected $19 million toward general operations, police, fire and ambulances.

If the House proposed bill becomes law, this $42 million would disappear.

The 2025-2026 school year’s budget was $307 million. Glynn, Brunswick and the county schools could make up the shortfall with new sales taxes, new fees and assessments on homeowners — or simply cut services.

ACCG’s data estimates that the cost of the Burns-backed bill to Glynn government budgets could be made up with an additional sales tax of slightly more than a penny, and by shifting the use of pennies they already collect toward property tax relief.

The bill’s impact, however, varies greatly from county to county. Other communities would need to raise local sales tax from one-third of a penny to more than five cents to make up the loss of homestead revenue, according to the ACCG data.

But there is another hurdle to consider. Georgia law now says total sales taxes can not be greater than 9% of a transaction. Many jurisdictions are already bumping up against that limit to fund current levels of services.

A separate mechanism for local communities to raise funds would be charging itemized fees or assessments to homeowners, such as for garbage pickup or fire service.

Georgia’s school boards, cities and counties, which have their own lobbyists, are watching Burns’ legislation closely. For now, they are in a wait-and-see mode, watching both HR 1114 and its companion legislation, House Bill 1116.

The Georgia School Boards Association believes the legislation is likely to change during the session, and it encouraged each school board to immediately try to assess local impact.

“We at GSBA want to hear from our members to determine where issues may lie and communicate that to the sponsor,” reads their statement to members. “We also encourage all of our members to talk with their legislators and help them understand the impacts of ensuring public schools can still operate to serve students at a high level.”

Avoiding the courthouse steps

Georgia’s public schools, counties and cities have dropped their property tax rates since 2020 on average, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue’s 2024 Property Tax Administration report. But the assessed value of homes doubled from 2013 through 2023 — and that is the main reason driving the rise of property tax bills.

So far, Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders are explaining their bill with a slogan that reflects their party’s ideological tilt towards low taxes, rather than public services.

“Georgia House Republicans believe no one should ever face the loss of their home because they can’t afford to pay rent to the government,” Burns said at his press conference last month touting the bill.

Democrats, meanwhile, are looking for information that would illustrate the potential threat the proposed tax change would have on public safety agencies, and other local government-funded programs.

The state House’s leading Democrat said her caucus has gotten a briefing about the bill by its sponsor, House Ways and Means Chairman Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire. But Carolyn Hugley said her caucus still has questions and are listening to their school boards, city councils and county commissions.

“They’re concerned because it’s a tax shift,” said Hugley, a Columbus Democrat, speaking to reporters Thursday.

“You’re going to have to make up what you’re giving back in property taxes … so that means if you’re short, you have got to shift your priorities,” she said.  “There are concerns about what they do for infrastructure projects, to make improvements for the future.”

Hugley said her party has proposed more targeted relief, such as credits toward state income taxes for Georgia’s lowest-income workers.

This article first appeared on The Current and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.