Kemp focused on Georgia, unlike other Republicans
On March 15, Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp announced the latest round of tax refunds, after signing another bill that will see around $1 billion returned to Georgia taxpayers who filed their taxes in 2021 and 2022. Some taxpayers are set to receive between $275 and $500 depending on their circumstances, and the money to fund these payments will be drawn from the huge budgetary surplus that has accrued under Kemp's leadership.
This is the second year in a row, that Kemp has seen fit to send money back to Georgia's taxpayers who diligently filed their taxes on time. In 2022, he announced a similar scheme that saw $1.1 billion in handouts being given to those who had filed their taxes for the last 2 years. The tax rebate was one of a number of initiatives that Kemp's administration took to help hardworking Georgians through the cost-of-living crisis that has been felt keenly in the Peach State.
Throughout much of 2022, Kemp had also suspended tax on gasoline as a means of helping Georgians make financial ends meet, and provided a further $1 billion to help those on state benefit schemes. He proposed a further round of tax refunds too in the run-up to the midterm elections - perhaps that was part of what assured his victory over Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Helping future generations of Georgians
While some citizens of Georgia may question how the state managed to accrue such a budget surplus that can now be handed back to the taxpayers, others will recognize that it's a side effect of good fiscal management.
Also in 2022, Kemp announced an initiative to provide mandatory financial education to high school kids that will hopefully increase financial literacy and help prepare them for adult life.
Kemp focused on Georgia, unlike Marjorie Taylor-Greene
Citizens of Georgia will likely be relieved that at least one of their elected Republican politicians is focused on what's best for the Peach State and those who live there. In stark contrast, Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene continues to do whatever she can to seek publicity and to divide the public down partisan lines. Rarely does she address issues that are likely to be of genuine interest to citizens of the state, but instead she courts controversy and seeks press coverage.
On March 14, MTG turned her focus onto the U.S. border wit Mexico (far from Georgia) and added her name as co-sponsor for a bill that seeks to declare war on Mexican drug cartels.
She has also repeatedly called for a division of nation into separate Republican and Democrat-led states in a so-called 'national divorce'.
Taylor-Greene continues to seek favor with Donald Trump by championing causes that are important to the one-term former president, presumably in order to improve her chances of eventually running alongside him in the 2024 presidential election.
In short, it seems like she's far more interested in building her own political career rather than focusing on the needs of Georgians who elected her, unlike Governor Brian Kemp. Hopefully the voters of the state will remember this the next time elections are held.
Do you believe you'll receive a refund of income tax as a result of Governor Kemp's new initiative? Are you struggling to make financial ends meet? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Comments / 37