As Gwinnett County’s tax digest continues to decline, Commissioner Mike Beaudreau proposed an increase in sales tax with a concurrent decrease in property tax; may appear as a referendum on Gwinnett ballots in November.
Although details of the proposal are not clear as of yet, the proposed 1% special purpose local option sales tax would be used to pay for various county operations and would be accompanied with a comparative reduction in property tax. According to Beaudreau, this sales tax increase would make Gwinnett less dependent on revenues from property taxes and essentially result in no net tax increase. The proposal was introduced at a recent planning workshop where commissioners learned of an additional 8.6% decline in the County’s tax digest. This is largely due to the state of the real estate market and reduced property values; if no action is taken the County’s tax digest is projected to continue to decline in the coming years, further reducing Gwinnett’s operating budget. Although other commissioners have not signed onto the referendum as of yet, Beaudreau holds that one solution to the problem is to reduce the county’s dependence on property tax revenues by replacing it with an additional 1% in sales tax. Voters may have the option to decide for themselves this November.
The Council for Quality Growth believes in sound fiscal policy that supports the taxpayers and citizens, but any decision such as this needs to be fully evaluated due to the impact it could possibly have on the county budget. During this economic recovery, this evaluation is of paramount importance in order for Gwinnett County to continue to provide the high level of services our citizens have come to expect.
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