Taxes are necessary to fund core government services, but tax policy should be structured to broaden the tax base while lowering rates overall. Taxes should consume as small a portion of income as possible, should not interfere with economic growth and investment, and should not place the state at a competitive disadvantage. When taxes are low, government spending and regulation are consequentially restrained; limited government is a foundational principle of a free market.

Government Accountability, Taxes and Spending

Georgia Governor’s Budget Reports

Each year, the Governor recommends to the General Assembly a budget for the State of Georgia. This proposed budget and an amended version of the current year’s budget are detailed in the Governor’s Annual Budget Reports.
Taxes and Spending

Georgia Needs an Earnest Effort at Tax Reform

Nearly a decade ago, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue created the Georgia Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness, “to examine the tax code of Georgia, review it for fairness, and then recommend a new tax structure that would be as growth-friendly and as job-friendly as we could make it.”
Government Accountability, Taxes and Spending

Case for Incentives Strikes Out

This commentary by John Hood, chairman of the John Locke Foundation, appeared in the Carolina Journal’s August 2018 edition. Read it online here.

Case for Incentives Strikes Out

By John Hood

North Carolina politicians and policy analysts have been arguing for decades about targeted…

Regulation Reform, Taxes and Spending

2018 Victories: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

As 2018 dashes away like Donner and Blitzen, many Georgians will remember it as a year of major political transition. But 2018 also brought some substantial improvements to Georgians’ lives through better policy, much of it championed by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
Government Accountability, Legal System, Regulation Reform, Taxes and Spending

2018 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum Agenda

The 2018 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum is slated for Friday, September 7, 2018 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel.
Taxes and Spending

Georgia’s Taxing Options after the Supreme Court’s Online Sales Tax Ruling

By Jeffrey Dorfman

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month means even companies without a physical presence in a state can be required to collect sales taxes if states so choose. The ruling, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, levels the playing…

Taxes and Spending

Tax Season is Easier This Year

Putting more money in Americans' pockets.
Criminal Justice, Education, Health Care, Taxes and Spending, Transportation

Winners and Losers in Georgia’s 2017-18 Session

The good, the bad, the ugly of the 2017-18 legislative session.
Regulation Reform, Taxes and Spending

Tax Reform Will Boost Economy, Clear the Way for Bigger Paychecks

When corporate taxes are cut, workers' wages rise.
Economy, Education, Health Care, Taxes and Spending

News Release: Foundation President McCutchen Stepping Down at Year’s End

After nearly 25 years, Foundation CEO is accepting a new position.
Economy, Education, Environment, Health Care, Taxes and Spending

A Thanksgiving to be Grateful for Leaders with Integrity

By Benita M. Dodd

Tim Huelskamp, speaking at the 2017 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum, told attendees, “I spent six years in Washington and it’s still the same today: The real action, the real opportunities for growth and actually reinvigorating…

Education, Health Care, Taxes and Spending

2017 Forum Delivers Promising Policies on Taxes, Health Care, Education

By Benita M. Dodd

With politics and the weather in unusual and untimely states of flux in 2017, the 2017 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum was undoubtedly one of the most difficult to organize since the Georgia Public Policy Foundation established the…

Taxes and Spending

Rate Cuts, Not Tax Cuts

Economists all agree that tax reform is pro-growth if it broadens the base (such as by eliminating deductions) while reducing marginal tax rates.
Regulation Reform, Taxes and Spending

News Release: Foundation Joins Coalition Applauding Tax Reform Framework

Coalition delivers letter of support for federal tax reform to Congress.
Taxes and Spending, Transportation

Commonsense Recommendations for SPLOST Reform in Georgia

By Ron Sifen and Benita M. Dodd

Georgia’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) is an optional 1 percent county sales tax used to fund local capital projects for a county and participating municipalities. Thirty-two years after lawmakers passed the…

Regulation Reform, Taxes and Spending

Foundation Joins Coalition Urging Pro-Growth Tax Reform

Coalition seeks federal tax code reform.
Health Care, Taxes and Spending

Certificate of Need: A Blunt Instrument for a Fiscal Problem

The problem and the solution are funding, not regulation.
Health Care, Taxes and Spending

Insurance Regulation, Risk Pools and Tax Credits

By Kelly McCutchen

Addressing pre-existing issues and helping low-income individuals afford health insurance are two major issues being debated in health care reform. The challenge is avoiding unintended consequences by making sure the right incentives are in place.

Insurance Regulations

Before the Affordable…

Environment, Taxes and Spending

On Muni Broadband, Buyer Beware

A year after the Savannah City Council approved a $62,500 contract asking consultants to explore potential demand for a municipal broadband network, the firm finally has released its findings and recommendations.
Education, Taxes and Spending

Foundation Welcomes Ga. High Court Ruling on Tax Credit Scholarships

The Georgia Supreme Court declares tuition tax credit scholarships constitutional.