AJC 5/6/18 page 1 reports “Changing attitudes may boost
transit. This is wishful thinking from ARC and their cronies in the Georgia
Legislature. HB 930 grants permission for counties to have a ballot initiative
to increase county sales taxes to fund public transit expansion.
The reasons 66% of voters defeated the T-SPLOST in 2012
were many, but the fact that public transit is a failed business model remains.
It requires perpetual tax subsidies and should be privatized.
13 metro counties will be allowed to put transit expansion
on the ballot again. A few county commissions are considering a study that will
be completed by 2019. Most of these counties will ignore this, but Gwinnett and
Cobb are targeted. DeKalb and Fulton already fund MARTA with a 1 cent sales
tax.
The combined sales tax rate for DeKalb County, GA is 8%. This is the total of
state and county sales tax rates.
The Georgia state sales tax rate is currently 4%.
The DeKalb County sales tax rate is
4%.
A new
local tax took effect
in Fulton County on
April 1, 2018, but only outside the City of Atlanta.
The combined rate in Fulton County was 7 percent.
Beginning April 1, 2018 the Fulton
County TSPLOST takes effect, the rate will be 7.75 percent.
Here’s a look at current
sales tax rates across the metro Atlanta area on 11/9/17: City of
Atlanta: 8.9%, Clayton County: 8%, Fulton County (outside Atlanta):
7.75%, DeKalb County: 8%, Gwinnett County: 6%, Cobb County: 6%
Public transit needs to be privatized. There is no reason
we need to subsidize this beast. It has low ridership and deserves a low
priority. A private sector company would do a better job. Counties need to fix
their sewer and water distribution systems and expand their road systems.
Trains and buses only go where they go and that is rarely
where you need to go.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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