Georgia Legislative Watch

State Rep. Kevin Levitas (D - Atlanta) has teamed up with fellow Democrat Alan Powell and Republicans Harry Geisenger & Tom McCall to introduce a constitutional amendment that would “end back door tax increases.”

According to Levitas, the proposed amendment, House Resolution 1170, would “effectively freeze a home’s value for property tax purposes at the original purchase price of the home or the 2002 assessed value.”

If a county wants to raise taxes, then it will have to do so directly and uniformly, rather than using inconsistent increases in individual property assessments to accomplish that goal,” Levitas said.

State Rep. Alan Powell also spoke favorably of HR1170 saying, “Property taxes have risen at an alarming rate. Enough is enough; it is time to cure the system.”

If approved by a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, HR1170 would be placed on the November General Election ballot for approval by the voters.