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Published Monday, March 08, 2010 in Local

Senate leader: Tax collections still slump, no rate hike planned

By Walter C. Jones

Morris News Service

ATLANTA– Georgia's tax collections remain in decline, a senior Senate leader said Monday, but he said senators are not considering hiking tax rates to cope.

Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers told reporters as the General Assembly reconvened after a two-week break to study the stressed budget that money continues to flow into state cofers at an unusually low pace.

"My understanding is that the February numbers aren't going to look great, which is another problem for us," said Rogers, R-Woodstock. "The budget problem is not getting any better."

Lawmakers expect Tuesday or Wednesday that the Department of Revenue will release its report of the most recent month's collections. If collections continue dropping, Gov. Sonny Perdue is likely to lower the official estimate of annual revenue, which would require legislators to either cut further or boost taxes.

Rogers said fees will rise but not taxes.

"There has not been a serious look in the Senate at raising taxes," he said.

Tax increases, he said, will keep the economy from growing. An expanding economy, he said, is the best solution for fixing the budget.

Those budget cuts will include the University System of Georgia but not as deep as many media reports have forecast, he said.

"They are going to get a larger portion of the pie, but it's a smaller pie," he said of the system.

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