Forsyth County Closer to Imposing Energy Excise Tax

Gov. Nathan Deal says the tax is a barrier to attracting new manufacturing business and plans to phase it out in the new year.

Forsyth County Commissioners held a public hearing and first reading Thursday of an ordinance to collect an energy tax on manufacturers, the same tax the state is phasing out on Jan. 1 at the urging of Gov. Nathan Deal. Deal says the tax is a barrier to attracting new manufacturing business. But when state lawmakers agreed to reduce the tax by 25 percent each year for the next four years, they left the door open for local governments to make their own decision whether or not to collect the tax. Forsyth County Commissioners were quick to rush through the door, signing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the city of Cumming two months ago to implement the tax. In order for the IGA to take effect, however, the county is required to pass…

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