A new law signed by Governor Brian Kemp (R) says that a certain amount of income from Georgia veterans’ military pensions will be exempt from income tax.
Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated dictates tax exemptions.
HB 1064 updated that law to reflect that the following income is non-taxable:
Up to $17,500.00 of income received by an individual who is less than 62 years of age paid to such individual as retirement benefits from military service in the armed forces of the United States or the reserve components thereof and an additional amount of up to $17,500.00 of such income, provided that he or she has Georgia earned income otherwise included in his or her Georgia taxable net income in an amount that exceeds $17,500.00.”
The bill’s primary sponsor was State Representative Jesse Petrea (R-Isle of Hope). It passed through the Georgia House of Representatives unanimously, with only six representatives not voting.
Other sponsors included State Reps. Richard Smith (R-Columbus), Josh Bonner (R-Peachtree City), Mark Newton (R-Huntington), Shaw Blackmon (R-Perry), and Bill Hitchens (R-Bloomingdale).
“It’s just thanking them for their service,” Kemp said at the bill signing, which was held Monday at National Infantry Museum in Columbus. “We’ve got so many great veterans in this state. … This is our way of saying ‘thank you.’ This is also a workforce development issue. We want to keep these retirees here when they go into their second careers.”
Kemp is currently in a heated primary race against former Senator David Perdue (R), to determine who will square off against failed 2018 gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in November.
The governor has found himself at odds with former President Donald Trump, who thinks Kemp did not do enough to challenge the election results in Georgia after his 2020 race with President Joe Biden.
Trump has endorsed Perdue.
Still, Kemp remains popular.
According to the latest polling which surveyed 660 likely Republican voters, 52 percent said they would vote for Kemp in the May 24 primary. Only 27.5 percent said they would vote for Perdue. Three other candidates lag behind, though education professional Kandiss Taylor is polling at 10 percent.
However, the margin of error in the poll is three points.
Unless Kemp obtains more than 50 percent of the vote on primary day, he will likely square off with Perdue in a runoff.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Brian Kemp” by Office of U.S. Senator David Perdue. Background Photo “Southern Vanguard” by The U.S. Army. CC BY 2.0.
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