WABE released a second story highlighting the Fiscal Research Center’s report, “Georgia’s Incredible Shrinking Sales Tax Base.”
The article, “Lifestyle Changes Mean Fewer Sales Tax Dollars for Ga.,” shows that there is a trend in consumers spending more on services, items that are not taxed.
“I mean, it’s somewhat surprising to anybody who hasn’t looked at the data, that the share of our spending that’s actually taxable has been shrinking that much over the last 20 years,” researcher Robert Buschman was quoted as saying.
There are about 80 such exemptions for things like groceries and other broader exemptions for manufacturers and those in the agricultural industry, the article noted, adding that Buschman believed more online spending and lower business investment also played a part in waning sales tax revenue.