In the midst of his race for reelection against Democrat Stacey Abrams, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp plans to return roughly $2 billion to the state’s taxpayers, Fox News informed.
Kemp said Thursday afternoon that Georgia had a $5 billion budget surplus, and he promised to return the majority of the money to taxpayers through a number of projects.
At a press conference held in the state Capitol, Kemp said, that he believes that is not the government’s money,” according to FOX 5 of Atlanta, adding that the money is to the people, and that it’s not their responsibility to spend it all carelessly.
He continued that they want to give the citizens their money back because it’s will be more than they just need to spend on some wasteful projects, pointing out that allocating the money to state programs would not necessarily benefit the government because it would not be included in the budget for the following year.
According to FOX 5, in his proposal, nearly $1 billion of the surplus will be distributed as income tax rebates, with single filers receiving $250, heads of household receiving $375, and joint filers receiving $500.
The remaining $1 billion, according to Kemp, would be distributed to property owners as part of a “Georgia Homeowner Rebate,” which would deliver on average $500 to people who consistently qualify for a homestead exemption.
Homeowners in Georgia are being particularly hard-hit by local property tax bills as home prices around the nation soar, according to Kemp.
Kemp said that he is aware that receiving bigger bills in the mail may push families who are already struggling to make ends meet to make sacrifices on other household essentials.
Unexpected increases in property values and local tax bills over the previous year have further added to the uncertainty that they are currently in for young Georgians who are settling into their first-ever homes or parents who are sending their children off to college.
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