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March 29, 2005
When is $250 really $15?
Governor Perdue has championed a teacher sales tax break on Georgia income taxes, and the press has mostly lapped it up. He calls for a $250 deduction for teachers that use their own money to buy classroom supplies. Practically every teacher I've ever known falls into this category, and $250 is a lot of money, something like an extra car payment for most people.
Too bad that 6% (Georgia's income tax rate) of $250 is only $15. What many news organizations have not been reporting is that Perdue's proposal is not a tax credit, but a deduction. Instead of reducing by $250 the amount of taxes one pays, it reduces by $250 the amount of income one then calculates the amount they owe from. Perdue even has the audacity to suggest that teachers who have already filed can re-submit their taxes with the new credit intact.
I'm sorry, but in the real Georgia, if you've already gone through the hassle of doing your taxes once and mailed them in, the prospect of recalculating and refiling for a mere $15 extra is probably too big of a hassle for most teachers who have you know class to teach and (more) supplies to purchase in their free time. Not to mention grading papers and coaching athletics and all of the other things most teachers do.
Maybe in Sonny's "new" Georgia everyone is an amateur practicing accountant trying to save a buck, or fifteen. Not likely though. Besides, why refile your taxes for a measly $15? The real way to save money in the New Georgia is to host a fundraiser for Perdue's re-election. Just ask Bill Heard.
Posted by Chris at March 29, 2005 09:46 AM
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