Newspaper Page Text
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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017
Editor: Angela Gary
Phone: 706-410-1022
E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com
Website: www.banksnewsTODAY.com
Op
unon
“Where the press is free and every man
able to read, all is safe. ”
— Thomas Jefferson
It's time to show
some common
sense on tax breaks
Is Georgia dol
ing out too many
tax breaks?
You could cer
tainly make that
argument.
In this year’s
General Assembly
session, lawmak
ers passed 10 bills
granting various
forms of tax breaks
and exemptions
that totaled nearly
half a billion dol
lars: $483 million
over the next five years, by
one estimate. Gov. Nathan
Deal signed them all into
law.
The people receiving
the tax breaks are pri
marily Georgia’s wealthi
est citizens. One of the
bills passed this year, for
example, grants a sales
tax exemption for repairs
or renovations of luxury
yachts that cost at least
$500,000.
There’s also a tax break
for the Woodruff Arts Cen
ter in Atlanta, tax credits
for financiers who invest
in rural businesses, and a
reduction in the corporate
net worth tax.
Who’s not getting these
tax breaks? People like you
and me. We’re the ones
who will be expected to
make up the $483 million
in lost revenues that result
from all the tax breaks the
Legislature handed out.
In the same session
where they okayed a tax
exemption for luxury
yachts, legislators passed
another bill that increased
the fees you pay for boat reg
istrations. In other words, a
tax break for yacht owners,
but a higher registration fee
for people who take their
outboards to Lake Lanier.
Legislators declined to
renew another tax break
that for years provided
benefits to millions of mid
dle-income Georgians: the
sales tax holiday during the
summer for buying person
al computers and back-to-
school supplies. That tax
break was taken away.
That’s typically the phi
losophy of the General
Assembly: tax breaks for
the favored few, but not for
the many.
There are some legisla
tors from both sides of the
partisan aisle who criticize
these tax giveaways, but
most are only too happy to
keep granting them.
“My experience has been
that most folks are opposed
to all of them, except for the
one they’re for,” observed
Sen. Jack Hill (R-Reidsville).
But finally, there is at least
one study committee that is
taking a look at the matter.
The Special Tax Exemp
tion Senate Study Commit
tee held the first of several
hearings last week, and
some of the committee
members actually suggest
ed that it may be time to
start reining in these tax
breaks.
Sen. John Albers (R-Ros-
well), who chairs the com
mittee, said the
panel might very
well look at “those
(tax breaks) that
are actually not
providing the
value they were
originally intend
ed to. We want to
look at those and
see if it makes
sense in the future
to sunset those to
make sure we’re
spending each
and every tax dol
lar as wisely as we can.”
“I am more interested
in lowering everyone’s
income taxes and not hav
ing credits be so prevalent
in Georgia,” said Sen. Hunt
er Hill (R-Atlanta), who’s
running for governor next
year.
Albers also wants the
study committee to devel
op a process for evaluating
the potential payback of
proposed tax breaks before
lawmakers take the final
vote on them, so that the
unproductive ones aren’t
passed in the first place.
That would be a first for
Georgia, where tax breaks
have long been enacted
with no followup evalua
tion to determine whether
they actually accomplish
their purpose.
Chaaron Pearson of Pew
Charitable Trusts, which
studies the impact of tax
breaks nationwide, told
the study committee that
tax incentives for econom
ic development purposes
cost state and local govern
ments $40 billion a year in
foregone revenues.
Georgia is one of 23
states “that lacks a well-de
signed evaluation plan” for
these tax breaks, Pearson
said.
In other words, legisla
tors pass tax breaks but
the revenue department
doesn’t try to determine
whether these exemptions
are really creating jobs
or generating economic
development. Lawmakers
are just flying blind.
It could be that some
of the tax breaks passed
in recent years have real
ly been productive. An
oft-cited example is the tax
legislation that is credited
with luring TV and movie
production companies to
the state.
Under the current sys
tem, however, there’s little
way of knowing whether
tax breaks really work or
not.
I wish the study com
mittee all the luck in the
world as it undertakes this
Herculean task. It would
be great to see lawmakers
demonstrate some com
mon sense on the issue of
tax breaks - but don’t hold
your breath.
Tom Crawford is editor
of The Georgia Report, an
internet news service at
gareport.com that reports
on state government and
politics. He can be reached
at tcrawford@gareport.
com.
'Blessed assurance' stirs emotions
“Blessed assur
ance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a fore
taste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation,
purchase of God,
Born of His Spir
it, washed in His
blood.”
I sat in a cafe in
the North Caroli
na mountains on
a recent morning
around 7 a.m. wait
ing for my waffles.
I had visited friends
angela
gary
for
the weekend and was getting
breakfast before heading out
on the four-hour drive home.
There were only a few
people in the cafe, which I
had never been to before. I
suddenly heard male voices
in unison singing “Blessed
Assurance,” a hymn that has
been a part of my life for as
long as I can remember.
“This is my story
this is my song,
Praising my Sav
ior all the day long.
This is my story
this is my song.
Praising my Sav
ior all the day long.”
My eyes filled
with tears as I
thought about the
meaning of this
song. I have heard
it so many times but
the words really spoke to me
that morning.
No matter what trials and
tribuations we are going
through, we have that “Bless
ed Assurance” that Jesus is
with us.
The hymn was written in
1873 by Fanny Crosby, Amer
ica’s most prolific hymn writ
er, who wrote 8,000 gospel
songs and hymns during her
lifetime.
While the song was writ
ten 144 years ago, the words
still have an impact today
and give peace and strength
to so many people.
What makes Crosby’s
story even more amazing
is that she was blind. She
didn’t let this hold her back
and was known for the thou
sands of hymns that she
wrote.
A friend came over to play
some music for Crosby. The
lady had written the music
but didn’t have words. She
asked Crosby what the music
made her feel and she said
“Blessed Assurance.” She
then wrote the other words
for the song that has been a
blessing for so many people
over the years.
I never saw the men who
sang “Blessed Assurance”
that early morning in North
Carolina. I thought it was
probably a men’s group
having a prayer meeting in
the back of the restaurant. I
didn’t look in the back and
never saw the men but they
gave me a blessing on that
early morning.
I don’t know why they
were gathering but I’m glad
they sang this beautiful song
before their meeting. They
had no idea that it touched
my heart as I quietly sang the
words along with them.
It warmed my heart that
these men got up so early
to gather together and pray
and sing. It’s amazing how
someone can be a blessing
to you and never know it.
These men were certainly a
blessing to me.
Angela Gary is an editor
with MainStreet Newspa
pers Inc. She can be reached
at Angie@mainstreetnews.
com.
CLAiT00t* z - c °M
Every vote does count
Dear Editor,
Voting is something I
hope we will always believe
is a right and the founda
tion of our democracy. For
those who believe their
vote does not matter, there
are many cases of one vote
making the difference in
who was elected, especially
in rural counties like ours.
Just as important are the
citizens willing to be can
didates for public office. It
takes a willingness to invest
some money and time in
becoming a public servant.
However, there are always
friends and relatives willing
to help, and local parties
committed to seeing repre
sentative government.
We’ve been hearing a
lot about whether there is
fraud in the voting systems,
hacking, whether our elec
tion process is fair, whether
it can be trusted. I spent
some time recently talking
to our local Voter Election
Supervisor, Andra Phagan
(706-677-6260.) She was
very reassuring about how
our votes are counted local
ly, that voting machines are
not connected to the inter
net, and some other things
we need to know.
For instance if we change
our address we need to give
that information to the new
voter registration office or
fill out a form online at
the Secretary of State site.
We can’t be transferred
if there is an election in
progress so now is a good
time to update any chang
es. You can also register
to vote online and then
take your picture ID to the
polls to verify your identity
and address. Your driver’s
license bureau is another
place where you can reg
ister to vote, and get that
license to agree with your
voter registration address.
Some of us have lived
here several years (or gen
erations) and may even live
in the house we were born
in. But did you know you
can ask the registrar for an
absentee ballot if you can’t
get to the polling place or
are a senior citizen? Let’s
all make a decision to exer
cise our right to vote in the
next election. Meanwhile,
we don’t need to worry
here in Banks County about
our votes being counted.
Sincerely,
Mary Ellen Myers
Alto
POLICY ON
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The policy for letters to the
editor submitted to The Banks
County News is as follows:
• An original copy of all
letters must be submitted for
publication. Members of our
staff will not type out or hand-
write letters for people who
stop by the office and ask
them to do so.
• Letters to the editor must
be signed with the address
and phone number of the per
son who wrote them. The ad
dress and phone number will
be for our verification purposes
only and will not be printed
unless the writer requests it.
• E-mailed letters will be
accepted but we must have a
phone number and address.
• Letters that are libelous will
also not be printed. Letters
may also be edited to meet
space requirements.
Anyone with questions on
the policy is asked to contact
editor Angela Gary at Angie-
Editor@aol.com or 706-410-
1022.
The Banks County News
Founded 1968
The official legal organ
of Banks County, Ga.
142 Old Highway 441 North, Homer, GA 30547
Mike Buffington
Scott Buffington
Angela Gary
Charles Phelps
Sharon Hogan
Anelia Chambers
Co-Publisher
Co-Publisher
Editor
Sports Editor
Reporter
Receptionist
Phones fall 706 area code):
Angela Gary Phone 706410-1022
Angela Gary Fax 706-6214112
Homer Office Phone 706-612-5327
Web www.BanksNewsTODAY.com
(SCED 547160)
Published weekly by
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P.O. Box908, Jeffason, Ga. 30549
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