Budget & Taxes

There is no issue which evokes more powerful concern in our country today than fair and proper taxation. Regardless of who is in office in Washington, DC or elsewhere over the next few years, there will inevitably be unnecessary intrusion on individual freedom and economic activity. The following stories describe Southeastern Legal Foundation's work to reform unfair taxation at the local, state, and federal levels.

Consider SLF's policy efforts on unemployment insurance taxes, which led directly to the largest tax cut in Georgia history, a $1 billion, 4-year moratorium. Similar SLF efforts in four SE states produced an additional three-quarters of a billion dollars in savings. In 1995-96, the Foundation successfully challenged Georgia's $65 million a year intangibles tax on out-of-state stocks and bonds. Declared unconstitutional by the nation's highest court, the Georgia General Assembly rushed to repeal the illegal tax. Currently, SLF is challenging in federal court the misappropriation of so-called "impact fees" paid by developers in the City of Atlanta to offset the impact of development on roads, parks, and police/fire/E911.