Higher-Income Counties Like Fayette, Coweta Face Distinct Stakes in Georgia Income Tax Debate

A final report released this week by the Georgia Senate Special Committee on the Elimination of Georgia’s Income Tax is renewing debate over how proposed tax changes would affect communities across the state — with particular implications for higher-income counties such as Fayette and Coweta.

The special committee was created and appointed by Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has made eliminating the state income tax a central policy priority and has officially launched a campaign for governor in 2026. Jones has said removing the income tax would make Georgia more competitive with states that do not levy one, and he has highlighted the issue repeatedly in campaign messaging.

The committee’s report found that approximately three-quarters of all personal income tax revenue in Georgia comes from households earning more than $100,000 per year, meaning the largest benefits from eliminating the tax would flow to higher earners. That finding shaped the committee’s primary recommendation: increasing the state’s standard deduction from $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly to $50,000 and $100,000, respectively, as a way to preserve some tax relief for working- and middle-income households.

Statewide data, however, intersects differently with local income realities in Fayette and Coweta counties.

According to the most recent U.S. Census American Community Survey estimates:

• Fayette County’s median household income is approximately $109,000, placing it among the highest-income counties in Georgia.
• Coweta County’s median household income is about $94,000, also well above the state median of roughly $75,000.

Those figures mean a significantly larger share of households in Fayette and Coweta fall near or above the income thresholds that generate most of Georgia’s income tax revenue — and would therefore be more directly affected by both the proposed tax cuts and any future efforts to replace lost revenue.

The committee’s report found that households earning less than $100,000 per year make up about 71% of all Georgia income tax filers, yet contribute only 26% of total income tax collections, or $3.98 billion of the $15.47 billion collected in fiscal year 2023. The committee did not recommend specific replacement revenue sources, aside from drawing down state reserves or shifting capital projects from cash funding to debt financing.

Absent replacement revenue, the report estimates Georgia could face as much as $16 billion in lost funding by 2032, an amount equal to roughly 47% of the state’s general fund and more than the state currently spends on PreK-12 education.

“This proposal would dramatically push Georgia’s budget out of balance in order to enrich those already at the top of the economic ladder, while working- and middle-class families ultimately foot the bill,” said Daniel Kanso, Ph.D., senior fiscal analyst at the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute.

Kanso said the committee’s own analysis shows that 74% of the estimated $11.49 billion in annual tax benefits would go to households earning six figures or more. “The lack of specific recommendations for replacing Georgia’s largest revenue source points toward the most likely outcome — higher sales taxes and a higher cost of living for most Georgians,” he said.

GBPI estimates that if Georgia shifted toward a sales-tax-heavy revenue system, most residents would see an average net tax increase of about $1,000 per year, while households in the top 1% — those earning more than $835,000 annually — would see average tax cuts of about $60,000 per year.

For Fayette and Coweta counties, where household incomes already exceed state averages, the debate highlights a central question raised by the committee’s findings: whether the long-term fiscal tradeoffs of eliminating the income tax would ultimately benefit or burden local communities, particularly if funding for education, transportation, and other public services were affected.

The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute will host a public webinar Thursday, Jan. 8, at 2 p.m. to outline the potential impacts of eliminating Georgia’s income tax and discuss the committee’s recommendations. You can register for the webinar here.