The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp visits Perdue country to sign big tax-cut bill
Barbecue is a big choice on the menu at the White Diamond Grill, but when Gov. Brian Kemp visited the Bonaire diner this past week, he was looking to serve up some cold politics.
The White Diamond sits deep in the land of David Perdue, who has been challenging the governor’s reelection bid in the Republican primary. It’s known to be a restaurant the former U.S. senator favors.
Kemp came with key utensils: pens to sign into law one of the biggest bills of this year’s legislative session, a $1 billion tax cut.
It’s the kind of bill that Republicans love to pass in election years.
It aims to turn the state’s graduated income tax, with a top rate of 5.75%, into a flat tax of 4.99% by the end of the decade. It also will boost standard exemptions, from $2,700 to $12,000 for single filers and from $7,400 to $24,000 for married couples that file jointly.
House Ways and Means Chairman Shaw Blackmon, a Republican from Bonaire, said that once the measure is fully implemented, it will save a family of four with an income of $75,000 about $650 a year.
The tax cut even drew votes from a majority of Democrats in the General Assembly, but that doesn’t mean everybody likes it.
“Brian Kemp’s shift to a flat income tax is a boon for the wealthy, and stands consistent with his record of serving the well-off and well-connected while leaving behind working Georgians by opposing Medicaid expansion and cutting funding for public schools,” U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party, said in a statement.
Kemp was determined to make the most of the moment by signing the tax cut into law on Perdue’s turf.
It might seem like a cocky move, but Kemp appears to be in strong position. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll this past week showed Kemp way ahead of Perdue, 53% to 27%, with less than a month until the May 24 primary.
Kemp added to the spectacle by bringing along a guest for the trip to Middle Georgia to attend an economic development announcement in Perry: David Perdue’s first cousin, former Gov. Sonny Perdue.