VALDOSTA — A House bill claiming to provide tax relief to property owners in Georgia does more to help politicians than it does for taxpayers, said State Senator Tim Golden (D-Valdosta) another possible candidate fof governor in 2010.
HB 233 is nothing but political cover for those legislators who voted Feb. 18 for HB 143, Golden said.
Golden was opposed to HB 143 because it virtually eliminates the Homeowner Tax Relief Grants started under former Gov. Roy Barnes by tying future grants to 3 percent economic growth, plus inflation, a standard that, he said, will be tough, if not impossible, to meet in the foreseeable future. Legislators who voted for the bill introduced and passed HB 233 so they could tell voters at election time that they took action to provide tax relief, Golden said.
“Freezing assessments may be good politics, but, in the current economy, it is not likely that property values would be rising that much anyway,” Golden said.
tion to provide tax relief, Golden said.
Asked why the legislature chose January of 2011 as the specific expiration date for the bill freezing the reassessment value of property in Georgia, Golden said the only reason he could think of is that Gov. Sonny Perdue will be leaving office and a new governor elected.
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