Blog Budget and Taxes Coronavirus Economic Justice Education Health Justice Staci Fox 2026 Policy Priorities January 12, 2026 / January 9, 2026 by Staci Fox The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s mission is to advance lasting solutions that expand economic opportunity and well-being for all Georgians. We envision a fair and inclusive Georgia where all people prosper. We track and advocate for an equitable tax system and budget across education, health, and economic security, helping ensure adequate funding for state […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Press Releases & Statements GBPI Responds to Report and Recommendations from the Georgia Senate Special Committee on the Elimination of Georgia’s Income Tax January 7, 2026 by Daniel Kanso, PhD ATLANTA — Today, the Georgia Senate Special Committee on the Elimination of Georgia’s Income Tax released its final report and recommendations. Importantly, the committee found that about three quarters of all personal income taxes in Georgia are generated from those earning over $100,000 annually, meaning that the benefits from eliminating the income tax would be […] Read more »
Briefs Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Reports It’s Time to Modernize Georgia’s Tobacco User Fee and Add Commonsense Safeguards for a Healthier State December 15, 2025 / December 15, 2025 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Overview Georgia has the nation’s second lowest state cigarette user fee and lags most other states in adding common sense safeguards on the sale and use of tobacco products. With Georgia falling far short of recouping the costs of smoking through Medicaid alone, residents are effectively subsidizing the leading cause of preventable disease, death and […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Reports Breaking the Bank: Eliminating the State Income Tax Harms Most Georgians and Increases the Cost of Living November 17, 2025 / November 14, 2025 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Introduction Eliminating Georgia’s income tax would represent the largest transfer of wealth from working and middle-class families to high income individuals and corporations in state history. Doing so would dramatically push Georgia’s budget out of balance, given that the income tax has been the state’s single largest source of revenue since 1982. With Georgia already […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Press Releases & Statements Georgia Starts Fiscal Year 2026 with $14.6 Billion in General Fund Surplus Accounts October 20, 2025 by Daniel Kanso, PhD This week, the state released its annual Georgia Revenues and Reserves report, which provides information on the state’s financial position after the conclusion of the 2025 fiscal year (FY), ending June 30, 2025. The 2025 fiscal year marked the first instance since 2020 that the State of Georgia released a portion of its undesignated reserves. […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Cash and Safety Net Federal Policy Health Justice Press Releases & Statements Staci Fox GBPI Responds to Congressional Vote on the American Relief Act, 2025 October 1, 2025 by Staci Fox Georgia — “Coming together to enact a federal budget that responsibly funds our government remains among the most basic responsibilities of Congress and requires bipartisan compromise,” said Staci Fox, President and CEO of the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. “Shutting down the federal government will cause serious harm to people across our state. As other […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Fact Sheets Federal Policy Georgians Will Face Cuts to Core Programs and Higher Federal Debt to Finance Reduced Taxes for Top Earners in New Federal Law July 28, 2025 / October 28, 2026 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Read more »
Bill Analysis Budget and Taxes Economic Justice Education Federal Policy Health Justice Higher Education Reports Historic Federal Tax Shift Benefits Wealthiest, Grows Deficit and Exacerbates Georgia’s Rural Challenges July 17, 2025 / July 31, 2025 by GBPI Staff The role of government in society is to enact policies that are needed to advance towards economic justice. Those policies include supporting Georgians’ basic needs (food shelter, healthcare, education), improving their household financial stability (living wages/stable resources to pay bills) and promoting their long-term economic security (ability to absorb shocks and plan for the future). […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Budget Primer Health Justice Leah Chan Georgia Health Primer for State Fiscal Year 2026 June 30, 2025 / July 1, 2025 by Leah Chan Read More of the 2026 Budget Primer here. Georgia’s 2026 Health Budget The Departments of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), Community Health (DCH) and Public Health (DPH) are the primary agencies focused on the state’s health care and public health systems. Georgia plans to provide almost $7.7 billion in state funds for these three […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Budget Primer Cash and Safety Net Economic Justice Ife Finch Floyd Worker Justice Georgia Economic Justice Primer for State Fiscal Year 2026 June 30, 2025 / July 1, 2025 by Ife Finch Floyd Read More of the 2026 Budget Primer here. The Georgia Department of Labor FY 2026 Budget The Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) is an agency tasked with providing employment services for businesses and workers, workforce data and maintaining an Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. The FY 2026 DOL budget is about $8.9 million, a $352,000, a […] Read more »
