Property Tax Measure Up For Vote Could Be a Game Changer

The property tax relief that Floyd County taxpayers have been asking for could be tucked inside a 390-page tax bill championed by state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler that will go before voters in November.

“This could really be a game changer for property taxes,” Floyd County Tax Commissioner Kevin Payne said. “And it could provide a lot of relief for property owners.”

The part of the bill that could provide the most tax relief for property owners allows for a 1-cent sales tax that can be used only to offset property taxes.

“Our estimates are that Floyd County property taxes could be reduced by about 40%,” said Hufstetler, R-Rome. “And Rome city taxes could be reduced by almost 80%.”

But the proposal is still two elections away.

The 1-cent sales tax would have to be approved via a constitutional amendment during the November statewide elections. If the referendum is approved at the state level, then Floyd County voters would have to agree to enact it locally in a vote expected in March.

Officials have stated that the 1-cent sales tax — which would bring Floyd County’s sales tax up to eight cents per dollar spent — could provide critical help for property owners who have seen home valuations explode amid a scarcity of available housing.

“To be clear, this will not change the valuation of your house, which will probably continue to grow,” Payne said. “But this will create a pool of money, paid via a sales tax, which should provide huge relief for most property owners.”

The bill also includes a number of additional changes to the tax code, but the 1-cent sales tax has the potential to have the biggest impact in Floyd County.

“I’ve seen a lot of large tax bills come through the legislature,” Payne said. “They always create a lot of fear, and this one’s no different.”

Exemptions and Referendums

The constitutional amendment, if passed, will require all counties to implement a floating homestead exemption for all taxing jurisdictions, if they don’t have one.

However, according to Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord, the county already has a homestead exemption and it’s better than the version that the bill requires.

“It was implemented in 2002 and is a much better deal for taxpayers,” McCord said.

The bill also allows each taxing authority a one-time opt-out of the homestead exemption, assuming the statewide referendum passes, by advertising and conducting three public hearings before March 1, 2025.

“If you’re a homeowner, you need to sign up for the homestead exemption,” Rome City Manager Sammy Rich said. “It’s a great benefit, and housing valuations don’t seem to be going down.”

These changes will only be enacted if the constitutional amendment is passed in a statewide referendum that will appear on the ballot in November with the presidential election and other races.

If approved statewide and then by local referendum in March 2025, the 1% sales tax will start to be collected in the next quarter, in July 2025.

Compromise

For Hufstetler, the bill is a compromise between similar measures introduced in the Georgia House and Senate. While there were some items he would have preferred stayed in the bill, he said it’s a good compromise.

“I wanted the homestead freeze to be mandatory,” Hufstetler said. “But we compromised on making it opt-out.”

The state offers homestead exemptions to all qualifying homeowners, but some counties — like Floyd — have increased the amounts of their homestead exemptions by local legislation that are above the exemption offered by the state.

The senator also wanted a flat 3% annual increase limit in the base value of homesteads, but settled for a freeze tied to the Consumer Price Index.

“Using sales tax to fund the city and county is probably fairer than simply taxing property owners,” Hufstetler said. “This way, everyone pays for things that everyone uses. But we should see some property tax decreases coming soon. Help is on the way.”