Reps. Gambill, Scoggins and Kelley Introduce Senior School Tax Exemption Bills
State Representatives Matthew Gambill (R-Cartersville), Mitchell Scoggins (R-Cartersville) and Majority Whip Trey Kelley (R-Cedartown) recently introduced two House bills to exempt senior citizens living in Bartow County from paying taxes that benefit local area schools, according to a release from the State House on Thursday.
“The citizens of Cartersville and Bartow County deserve the opportunity to vote on a senior school tax exemption that impacts their community,” said Rep. Gambill. “While our school boards may not initially agree with this legislation, we have heard from hundreds of seniors in our communities who want the opportunity to vote on this measure. Representative Scoggins and I made a commitment to the seniors in our communities that we would address this issue during the 2019 legislative session. We are not advocating for or against this issue, but we simply ask the House to pass this measure to allow our local community to have the opportunity to decide on these two measures for themselves.”
The proposed legislation would exempt senior citizens from paying ad valorem taxes towards the City of Cartersville independent school district and Bartow County school district. If passed, a local election would be held in November 2020 to allow the citizens of Cartersville to vote on the two senior tax exemption measures.
If passed, the following citizens would be eligible for the school tax exemption: citizens that are at least 65 years old with 50 percent of the assessed value of a homestead that does not exceed $500,000; citizens that are at least 70 years old with 75 percent of the assessed value of a homestead that does not exceed $500,000; and citizens that are at least 80 years old would be granted an exemption with 100% of the assessed value of a homestead does not exceed $500,000.
Both bills have passed in the House Chamber and are now awaiting approval in the Senate.