Measure that could add to Georgia's used-car tax gets another look

Lawmakers are considering changing the way many used cars are taxed when they are purchased, a move that dealers say could add an average of $300 to a customer’s costs.

A financial accounting of House Bill 327, which passed the chamber last year in another measure but stalled in the Georgia Senate, estimated it would increase state and local taxes by $162 million to $178 million next year if it becomes law.

“It is a tax increase for a majority of people working paycheck to paycheck who just can’t afford it,” said Paul John, the CEO of the Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association, which represents used-car dealers.

While the aim of the bill sponsored by state Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, is to standardize the taxing of car sales and eliminate scams by some Georgians selling used cars, the battle pits two political heavyweights in Georgia politics: the new- and used-car dealers’ lobbies.

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