This policy brief presents an analysis of several potential reforms of the personal property tax system in Georgia. Taxable personal property consists of property that is moveable and can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, touched or is otherwise perceptible to the senses. Included as personal property are inventories, livestock, machinery and equipment.
Personal property is a large share of the property tax base in Georgia.
But there are concerns regarding the inconsistency of personal property assessment across counties, the inconsistent treatment of the same types of property within the same county, the rate of depreciation for machinery and equipment used in industries where technology is rapidly advancing, implementing changes in personal property tax that result from court decisions, the assessment of items such as older boats, older farm equipment, and the assessment of idle equipment. The personal property tax has been a decreasing share of local taxable assessed value in many states. In Georgia, personal property decreased from 36.6 percent of locally assessed value in 1956 to 13.7 percent in 1996. A total of nine states did not tax personal property in 1991. Eliminating the tax on personal property would have a substantial impact on property tax revenues.