SUMMARY:

            This bill would amend Title 48 of O.C.G.A. to allow local tax jurisdictions to contract with the local tax commissioner or a private tax collection firm to collect all local sales and use taxes.  Those districts that did not choose to do so would continue to have the tax collected by the state commissioner with a 1% collection fee going into the General Fund for administration costs.  There is also a provision that would mandate that the state commissioner continue to collect from large business firms with collections over $1000 per month.    

NOTE:

    Though this bill could answer concerns of most taxing jurisdictions regarding inconsistency of collections that are processed and forwarded to governmental agencies within the district, contracting for local collections might exceed the 1%  collection fee charged by the state commissioner, thereby shrinking local revenue even more than before, and the new collection method could shrink the General Fund substantially.  Not only could that hurt state revenues during a time of fiscal crisis, the administrative costs of collections could disappear into private coffers and never benefit either the state revenue or local government agencies or school systems at all.