Georgia Chamber Tax Overhaul Plan

The tax overhaul plan is a response to the near universal assessment that the state's tax system is, in the description of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, "out of date, too full of exemptions and discouraging to potential corporate prospects."

It's an overhaul the need for which has been brought into sharp focus by the devastating drop in state revenues during the current economic crisis a mathematical fact that suggests, among other things, a revenue stream based too heavily on sources that are too volatile and too recession vulnerable.

A special committee of economists, the chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the state chair of the National Federation of Independent Business and four other members appointed by the lieutenant governor and House speaker would recommend changes to the legislature. A legislative committee would then write a tax revision bill to be submitted to the General Assembly for an up or down vote.

That's the good news: The process seems designed to take pork politics out of the equation as much as possible, and to address chronic flaws in the ways state government in Georgia is paid for. Democrats have objected that they have too little representation on the committee the same complaint that would be, and frequently was, heard from Republicans during the decades of Democratic rule in Atlanta. The more compelling case for diverse representation has less to do with party affiliation than with the demographic and economic realities of Georgia's people.

While business interests, which account for hundreds of millions in taxes, absolutely must have prominent seats at the table, there is reason to ask whether there will be enough chairs left for other important stakeholders in tax policy meaning, of course, every citizen of Georgia, high and humble.

We suggest that the governor, lieutenant governor, the speaker and others responsible for the makeup of this council keep in mind the microeconomics, as well as macroeconomic, consequences of the decisions they make. As too many Georgians already know, bad tax policy crunches more than just numbers.