A key state House committee passed a measure Friday that would charge sales taxes when Georgians download books, video games or music.
House Bill 170 by Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, is the latest attempt by lawmakers to tax products purchased through internet sites in an effort to bring those sales in line with taxes paid when Georgians buy similar products from local stores.
The measure passed the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday and is now likely headed to the House floor for a vote Monday on Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to pass at least one chamber of the General Assembly.
The House and Senate passed legislation in early 2020, a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the economy, to collect more sales taxes on products bought through internet sites. The new tax proved a major boon to the state as Georgians began buying more and more products online. The state has run massive revenue surpluses the past two fiscal years, and the internet sales tax was credited with being one of several factors in that.
Carpenter’s bill expands on the previous measures to include downloads of things such as books, video games and music that a buyer retains possession of. It wouldn’t tax streaming services — such as Netflix — or subscription-based products, he said.
“We realized we were subsidizing internet sales versus brick-and-motar (store) sales,” Carpenter told the committee.
Rep. David Knight, R-Griffin, a longtime member of the committee, said the panel has been looking in recent years at the issue of parity for local stores that charge the state’s 4% sales tax and local sales taxes when Georgians buy products from them.
“We have seen stores suffer because of internet sales,” he said. “That’s a detriment to our community as we look at the good people, local jobs, property taxes and good neighbors that support our communities.”
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