ATL Standard

Even after lawmakers spent nearly $29 billion in state taxes and fees during the 2022 budget year, the State Accounting Office reports the state ran a surplus topping $6 billion.

According to a recent report by FOX 5 Atlanta, the State Accounting Office made a report Friday, stating Georgia ran a $6.37 billion surplus even after spending $28.6 billion in state taxes and fees in the 2022 budget year.

"The governor will continue to leverage state resources to help families in our state fight through 40-year-high inflation caused by failed Democratic leadership in Washington," Kemp spokesperson Tate Mitchell told FOX 5 Atlanta.

With the state having moved in March to waive its gasoline tax of 29.1 cents per gallon and its diesel tax of 32.6 cents per gallon, more than $1 billion of the money has already been earmarked to pay for roads, bridges and other transportation projects, FOX 5 reports.

Now locked in a reelection campaign against Democrat Stacy Abrams, Kemp is also pushing for another $1 billion to be earmarked for state income tax rebates, plus spending $1 billion to renew a long-dormant property tax break for homeowners, the report states.

According to the report, while Abrams agrees with Kemp about the $1 billion income tax rebate, she has expressed a desire to restrict it to households earning less than $250,000 annually.