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Call Now: 904-383-7448(a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, no property shall be exempted from ad valorem taxation unless the exemption is approved by two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly in a roll-call vote and by a majority of the qualified electors of the state voting in a referendum thereon.
(2) Homestead exemptions from ad valorem taxation levied by local taxing jurisdictions may be granted by local law conditioned upon approval by a majority of the qualified electors residing within the limits of the local taxing jurisdiction voting in a referendum thereon.
(3) Laws subject to the requirement of a referendum as provided in this subparagraph (a) may originate in either the Senate or the House of Representatives.
(4) The requirements of this subparagraph (a) shall not apply with respect to a law which codifies or recodifies an exemption previously authorized in the Constitution of 1976 or an exemption authorized pursuant to this Constitution.
(b) The grant of any exemption from ad valorem taxation shall be subject to the conditions, limitations, and administrative procedures specified by law.
- Art. VII, Sec. I, Para. IV.
- Georgia Const. 1983, Art. VII, Sec. I, Para. III(b)(3) is broad enough to authorize the General Assembly to grant an exemption to dealer-owned vehicles, as provided in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-472(b), and is not in conflict with Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VII, Sec. II, Para. II or Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VII, Sec. II, Para. I. Lowry v. McDuffie, 269 Ga. 202, 496 S.E.2d 727 (1998).
- County homestead exemptions were constitutional under the Tax Exemption Clauses of the Georgia Constitution, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VII, Sec. II, Para. II, although the nature of homestead exemptions was at odds with the equality of taxation sought by the Uniformity Clause, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VII, Sec. I, Para. III. Blevins v. Dade County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 288 Ga. 113, 702 S.E.2d 145 (2010).
A homestead exemption may neither be created, nor its amount raised, without the approval of the General Assembly and a subsequent referendum. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U89-25.
- The disabled veterans homestead exemption set forth in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-48.3, which became effective July 1, 1986, can go into effect without a referendum. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-2.