Georgia's General Fund Revenues Grew by 5.5 Percent in Last Quarter Despite Gas Tax Holiday

by T.A. DeFeo

Georgia continues to see increasing revenues, new numbers show.

The state’s total general fund receipts in August exceeded $2.3 billion. That represents an increase of 8.5%, or $180.4 million, over last August when net tax collections topped $2.1 billion.

For the first two months of fiscal 2023, total general fund receipts have surpassed $4.5 billion, an increase of 5.5%, or nearly $234.6 million, over the first two months of fiscal 2022.

August’s individual income tax collections surpassed $1.3 billion, an increase of 19.5%, or almost $215.6 million, over August 2021 collections. Meanwhile, corporate income tax collections increased by $60.2 million to $62.3 million compared to August 2021, when they totaled $2.1 million.

Gross sales and use tax collections approached $1.48 billion for the month, an increase of 11.9%, or $156.4 million, over August 2021. Meanwhile, net sales and use tax collections increased by 11.1%, or $73.3 million, compared to August 2021, when revenue hit $663.1 million.

Hotel and motel fees in August were up 4.4%, or $766,000, from a year ago. For the fiscal year, hotel and motel fees are up 9.3%, or about $3 million, from last fiscal year.

Unsurprisingly, motor fuel tax collections decreased by $170.7 million. Gov. Kemp has signed a series of executive orders to halt gas tax collections, and the current moratorium runs through Oct. 12.

Georgia collects 29.1 cents a gallon on gasoline and 32.6 cents a gallon on diesel fuel.

– – –

T.A. DeFeo is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Georgia Capitol” by Autiger. CC BY-SA 2.0.