Declining revenue will be a problem legislators will face in 2020 General Assembly

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – State Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Ga.) said there will be number of difficult challenges when the Georgia General Assembly is gaveled into session Monday (Jan.13).

One of the biggest challenges, he said will be setting the state budget amid declining revenue.

“The budget is always difficult, but this year it is going to be especially tough because of the decline in revenue,” Tanner said Wednesday. The economy continues to be strong but revenue is generated when companies expand and therein lies part of the problem. Georgia is at, or near, zero unemployment and companies can’t find the workers they need to grow.

“Most businesses want to expand and grow, but finding a quality workforce is the biggest problem,” he said. “It’s something many states are struggling with.” Nationwide, there are 8.7 million job postings and only 7 million unemployed.

An executive at the KIA plant in Savannah told Tanner the thing that most often kept him awake at night was the fear of not finding enough truck drivers to deliver the product.

Tanner said the marketplace facilitator bill introduced in last year’s general assembly would have raised hundreds of millions of dollars. The bill, which would have required on line marketplaces like Amazon and eBay to collect and remit sales taxes on behalf of  sellers, sailed through the House, but stalled in the Senate.

He expects that bill to be reintroduced in this session.

Tanner said he will continue his town hall sessions beginning Saturday (Jan. 18).

 

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