Georgia – Georgia’s tax collections were higher at the end of December, following a slow increasing trend that started midway through the fiscal year.
The net tax revenues for the month were $3.44 billion, which is around $101 million, or 3%, more than December of the previous year. In December 2024, the total amount collected was just about $3.34 billion.
When we look at the big picture, revenues for the year up to December reached around $16.72 billion after six months. That number is up approximately $363.7 million, or 2.2 percent, from the same time last year, when collections were around $16.36 billion. There were a few big tax categories that made the monthly hike happen, but individual income taxes were the biggest.
In December, the government collected $1.6 billion in individual income taxes, which was $108.7 million, or 7.3 percent, more than the same month last year. There were many reasons for this expansion. Payments for withholding income taxes went up by $78.6 million, or 5.5 percent, but refunds went down considerably, by $22.4 million, or 31.3 percent. Individual income tax return payments, on the other hand, fell by $8.6 million, or 23%. There was a total rise of $16.3 million in other individual tax components, such as projected payments.
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Sales and use taxes also went up during the month. Gross collections were $1.61 billion, which is $39.3 million, or 2.5 percent, more than in December 2024. After taking into account refunds and distributes, net sales and use tax receipts went up by $9 million, or 1.2 percent, compared to last year. Distributions to local governments was raised by 3.8 percent to $814.4 million, while sales tax refunds went up by $0.6 million.
Compared to December 2024, receipts of corporate income tax went up by $11.9 million, or 1.7 percent. The entire gain was due to fewer refund payouts and greater anticipated and assessment payments, even if corporate return payments were down by $11 million.
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Other categories delivered mixed results. The amount of money the government got from the motor fuel tax went up by $4.9 million, or 2.6%, from the year before. On the other hand, revenue from motor vehicles fell. Tag and title fees fell by $2.5 million, and title ad valorem tax collections fell by $4.8 million, both by 7.3%.
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Taken together, December’s figures point to steady, if uneven, revenue growth as the fiscal year progresses.
