RINCON — Rep. Bill Hitchens believes that Gov. Brian Kemp and the General Assembly will live up to their pledge to reduce the state income tax in the coming years.
“We’re going to try,” said Hitchens, who is seeking re-election in House District 161 on Tuesday. “State (sales) taxes have continued to be on the upside. It was double digits (increase) the last couple months.
“We don’t know how long that is going to last.”
In a move to put more money in the pockets of Georgians, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law an income tax relief package that will reduce the top rate from 5.75 percent to a flat 4.99 percent by 2029. It is only the second cut since the state started collecting income taxes in 1937.
Overall, Georgia ranks 48th nationally in terms of the total taxes its residents pay, Hitchens said. Unfortunately, he thinks it is likely that the nation will slip into a recession soon.
“But not a bad one,” Hitchens said.
Like most Americans, he is concerned about inflation, which is running at a 40-year high.
“My take on it is we’ve spent too much money, not with state government but on the federal level,” he said. “The federal government keeps manufacturing money and any time you have too much of something — if everybody had a backyard full of gold, gold wouldn’t be worth anything. We’re giving out too much money and you can’t buy your way out of debt.
“Fifteen years ago, our (national) debt was like $7 trillion. Today, it’s $31 trillion. It’s the number four item in the federal budget.”
Crime is another concern in the state legislature.
“We had a bill last year that didn’t go through but it’s coming up again,” he said. “It’s designed to deal with district attorneys who won’t prosecute cases. It’s not their job to pick and choose.
“They have a lot of latitude about whether or not (a case) meets the criteria for prosection but I’ve seen several come out and say, ‘I don’t believe in such and such law.’ Well, I believe they are in the wrong profession if that’s the case.
“If they want to write laws, they need to run for the legislature, not district attorney. Then they can make the laws.”
Hitchens noted that the district attorneys are violating their oaths to uphold the U.S. Constitution and state constitution.
“I don’t know how they do that,” he said. “I’ve worked all over this state in a law enforcement capacity and I am amazed at how different prosecutions are from one place to another.”
Republican legislators are seeking remedial action against district attorneys who refuse to enforce laws.
Hitchens, a former Georgia State Patrol trooper nd the first director of Georgia’s Department of Homeland Security, is an ardent supporter of law enforcement officers.
