Tax legislation that survived crossover day

At least 20 bills involving taxes stand a chance at passing during the 2015 session of the Georgia General Assembly. Another 30 tax measures failed to pass at least one chamber of the Assembly before last Friday’s “crossover” deadline. The viable bills deal with electronic notices of taxes due (HB 49), assessment and appeal procedures (HB 202), changes to the homestead option sales tax (HB 215), the postponement of tax and filing deadlines if those deadlines fall on a Federal Reserve holiday, and several changes to what is considered to be exempt from sales tax.

Revenue bills that didn’t survive include HB 68 which would have prohibited mailing tax bills for less than $5, SB 97 which spelled out additional requirements for tax officials before they could set or transfer liens for delinquent property taxes, and HB 265 which would have reduced the interest rate charged against delinquent tax amounts.

Local legislation such as annexation or local homestead exemption legislation aren’t subject to the crossover deadline and could still pass this session. Bills that don’t pass during this session could be reconsidered during 2016.