- Ndubuisi Onwumere
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2026
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Brian Kemp’s Economist Refuses To Endorse Senate Republicans’ Middle Class Tax Hike
Between 2020 and 2022, Georgia’s top economist publicly opposed eliminating the state income tax because it would force raising taxes on “everything everyone… needs to live”
Atlanta, Ga. — At the first budget meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senate Republicans’ misguided venture to repeal the state income tax hit another bump in the road. Dr. Robert “Bob” Buschman, the state’s top economist appointed by Governor Brian Kemp, refused to endorse their plan. Dr. Buschman has long dismissed the idea as an “unrealistic talking point spouted by unserious people.”
In a series of since-deleted tweets between December 2020 and October 2022, he slammed the idea of eliminating the state income tax and highlighted Governor Brian Kemp’s original opposition to the idea.
Buschman noted that the income tax represented 52% of the state revenue at the time. Wiping that out would necessitate a comparable elimination of all of Georgia’s education spending, including higher education.
Additionally, Buschman argued that Georgia would have to double the state’s sales tax to 8% or more to avoid the fiscal disaster created by the elimination of the income tax.
In a May 2022 tweet, Buschman pushed back against the common Republican argument that highlights Florida as an example of the positive effects of eliminating the state income tax.
Background
In November 2025, the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI) released a report on the harm posed to Georgians by eliminating the state income tax. The report argues for a balanced taxation system — taxing both income and consumption — as a means to ensure a fair playing field for middle class Georgians. The position stems from the understanding that regressive tax policy, as seen in Georgia, forces middle class people to pay a higher share of their earnings compared to wealthier individuals.
The Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus is available for comment.
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