Democratic candidate for governor Stacey Abrams is calling for another round of payments to Georgia taxpayers.
She suggests Republican Gov. Brian Kemp should use $2.4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money to act now. Abrams wants payments of $500 to married couples who file income taxes jointly, $375 for single people with dependents and $250 for single people without dependents. That's the same structure as a tax rebate paid this spring that Kemp championed. Kemp spokesperson Tate Mitchell mocked Abrams for "copycat proposals" of Kemp's ideas.
Mitchell says Kemp will consult with legislative leaders on spending what could be more than $7 billion in state surpluses plus federal money.
Married couples making more than $250,000 a year would not get Abrams’ planned rebates, unlike this spring’s payments. She said that’s because Republicans have been too generous toward Georgia’s top earners, including in a separate income tax cut and restructuring that Kemp signed earlier this year that takes effect next year.