- The flexible local option sales tax could generate over $10 million annually, reducing property taxes by 50% for homeowners.
- Support for the plan is high, with neigbors eager to roll back their property taxes, especially in tough economic times.
- Watch the video to see how business owners believe this plan could benefit Thomas County's economy.
BROADCAST SCRIPT
A new sales tax is promising relief for homeowners, but first, local leaders must come to an agreement.
"It hurts me to have to come up with this money each year," said Davis.
Last November, I did a story asking neighbors what they thought about the Flexible Local Option Sales Tax, or FLOST, a new measure approved by Georgia voters.
The idea was to shift some of the property tax burden onto sales taxes collected at local businesses.
If implemented, the plan could bring in over $10 million annually, cutting property taxes by 50%.
So far, county leaders say the feedback has been overwhelmingly in favor of the proposal.
"My feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I think people look at their individual property taxes and they would like the opportunity to have those taxes rolled back. That's probably the number one complaint from the public is property taxes," said Mike Stephenson, the county manager.
Here's how it works: an additional one-cent sales tax would be collected at cash registers across the county.
That revenue—estimated at $10.5 million—would then replace part of the $18.4 million currently collected from property taxes, reducing the burden on homeowners.
Homeowners like Donald Davis, who's been paying property taxes for decades, say this change could make a big difference.
"We can't continue to have the burden based solely on property owners for the tax base," said Davis.
Davis tells me his property taxes cost him between $7,000 and $8,000 a year—an amount that's become harder to manage.
While some might worry about the sales tax increase, Davis believes the impact would be minimal.
"That small amount distributed among the whole population is not gonna hurt that bad," said Davis.
County leaders say the plan could also attract new businesses to Thomas County.
"I think this would be a tremendous economic development advantage for Thomas County. If we were able to reduce our property taxes in half, I think that would be a great attraction to other businesses and industries that might want to locate here," said Stephenson.
But not everyone is on board.
The Cities of Ochlocknee, Pavo, and Barwick are considering repealing the homestead exemption that makes this relief possible.
If they proceed, it could leave homeowners in these areas without property tax relief and jeopardize the referendum for the entire county.
The referendum is set for March 18—but only if all six cities agree to move forward.
