Gold Dome’s tax reform effort is apparently dead for the rest of session

• Joeff Davis/CL File

Surprising turn of events today down at the Gold Dome. The state House of Representatives adjourned for the day without voting on a controversial tax-reform package that even Speaker David Raslton had called a priority.

Via Tom Crawford of the Georgia Report:

That adjournment effectively would kill the bill, because it would not have enough time under legislative rules to win passage in the House and then receive three readings over three separate legislative days in the Senate.

The bombshell development kills for this year any action on a tax revision bill that the legislative leadership had called their most important task of the session.

The bill, which was based on business leaders’ recommendations and originally intended for an up-or-down vote, has been nipped and tucked during the legislative session. The most recent version would, among other things, cut the state income tax from 6 percent to 4.6 percent and add sales tax to cell phone and satellite dishes. It was released last night around 8 p.m.

While many Republicans championed the legislation as a boon for manufacturers and taxpayers, others, including Democrats and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said the changes would increase the state budget deficit and actually result in higher taxes for the middle class.

No telling what was behind the move. More details to come.

UPDATE, 7:07 p.m.: So says Ralston via the AJC:

Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, said he and Republican leaders in the House were not confident in the accuracy of projections provided by the Georgia State University Fiscal Research Center and he did not want to force a vote.

“We’re going to call a time out,” he said.”Tax reform is not dead. Tax reform is delayed.”

The legislation could be added to a planned redistricting session this summer or taken up next year.

And Sen. Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, released this statement, which is pretty funny when you read it out loud in a defensive tone.

“We believe strongly in the policy and the direction that the Tax Reform Council has laid out. This issue is not over and the Tax Reform Council will remain active. This is a difficult issue and should not be rushed. The Speaker’s leadership on this issue and insistence that we get this right before moving forward is commendable. We will spend our time out of session continuing to look into ways to improve our tax system and put money back into the pockets of our hard working citizens. However, it will not happen until we are confident that the package we have crafted will be a tax cut for Georgians- not an increase. A fair, flatter tax structure is a key component to true tax reform. We are not interested in a political quick fix. What we want is true tax reform that is based on sound and verifiable public policy. Until we are confident of that we will continue to work to get it right.”