Georgia Tax Revenues Continue To Climb As Tax Collections Up By $5.8B

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

June 16, 2022

(The Center Square) — Georgia saw its May tax revenues increase by 1.6% from a year ago, as tax collections approached $2.7 billion for the month.

This fiscal year, state general fund receipts exceeded $30.2 billion. That represents a 23.9%, or more than $5.8 billion, increase over collections last fiscal year, which exceeded $24.3 billion at the same point.

However, state officials contend it’s not an exact comparison because of the deferred state tax filing deadlines.

This fiscal year, individual income tax collections are up 30.1% to more than $16.8 billion, while corporate income tax collections are up 42.5% to more than $2 billion.

Unsurprisingly, motor fuel collections dropped by 99.3% in May and are down 7.1% this fiscal year. Last May, collections exceeded $170 million.

In March, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed House Bill 304 to suspend the state’s gas tax through May. Last month, Kemp signed an executive order to extend the suspension through July 14.

Meanwhile, gross sales and use tax collections surpassed $1.4 billion, an increase of 11.9%, or roughly $153.8 million from a year ago. This fiscal year, gross sales and use tax collections are up 16.7% to more than $15 billion.

This fiscal year, hotel and motel tax collections have topped $171.9 million, increasing 38.2% from last fiscal year. Conversely, tobacco tax collections are down 1.7% in fiscal 2022, while alcoholic beverage tax collections are up 0.3% this fiscal year.

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.