Statement on House Bill 447

ATLANTA (March 22, 2019) | Sen. John Albers (R – Roswell) and Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R – Rome) released the following statement on House Bill 447:

“Our belief is that sunsets should be capped at five years, as the fiscal impact of a 20-year sunset on an exemption is unknown over this extended time period. This five-year standard applies to all tax exemptions that come through the Senate Finance Committee. This change is reflected in the current version of House Bill 447, which we believe represents the wishes of our state and our constituents. Additionally, the excise tax placed on aviation fuel – not just jet fuel – as outlined in the committee substitute to HB 447 will ensure that funding for our state’s rural airport infrastructure and their local government’s tax base is not unintentionally diminished. However, these changes also represent a tax reduction as an excise tax per gallon is less than the sales tax on jet fuel per gallon, which will go back into effect in June of this year. In short, these updates to HB 447 were made because we believe the will and needs of the people of our state should be taken into consideration first and foremost, rather than that of any one entity.”

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For Immediate Release:
March 22, 2019

Ines Owens, Director
ines.owens@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028