Georgia's General Fund Revenues Grew By 5.5% In Last Quarter Despite Gas Tax Holiday

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

September 8, 2022

(The Center Square) — Georgia continues to see increasing revenues, new numbers show.

The state’s total general fund receipts in August exceeded $2.3 billion. That represents an increase of 8.5%, or $180.4 million, over last August when net tax collections topped $2.1 billion.

For the first two months of fiscal 2023, total general fund receipts have surpassed $4.5 billion, an increase of 5.5%, or nearly $234.6 million, over the first two months of fiscal 2022.

August’s individual income tax collections surpassed $1.3 billion, an increase of 19.5%, or almost $215.6 million, over August 2021 collections. Meanwhile, corporate income tax collections increased by $60.2 million to $62.3 million compared to August 2021, when they totaled $2.1 million.

Gross sales and use tax collections approached $1.48 billion for the month, an increase of 11.9%, or $156.4 million, over August 2021. Meanwhile, net sales and use tax collections increased by 11.1%, or $73.3 million, compared to August 2021, when revenue hit $663.1 million.

Hotel and motel fees in August were up 4.4%, or $766,000, from a year ago. For the fiscal year, hotel and motel fees are up 9.3%, or about $3 million, from last fiscal year.

Unsurprisingly, motor fuel tax collections decreased by $170.7 million. Gov. Kemp has signed a series of executive orders to halt gas tax collections, and the current moratorium runs through Oct. 12.

Georgia collects 29.1 cents a gallon on gasoline and 32.6 cents a gallon on diesel fuel.

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.