Georgia House committee proposes tax breaks, better broadband to lure people to rural areas - Entrepreneur Generations

"A powerful group of state lawmakers approved sweeping proposals Wednesday designed to encourage people and businesses to move to rural Georgia," Mark Niesse reports for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The group voted unanimously to support income tax breaks worth up to $6,000 a year, high-speed internet lines in unconnected areas and better health care access."

The Georgia House of Representatives Rural Development Council's recommendations could be enacted by the state legislature next year. That's none too soon for rural Georgia, in which 124 of the state's 159 counties had less than 5 percent population growth for five straight years. Many of the counties lost population as people moved to cities for the jobs they couldn't find at home.

Among the RDC's proposals are:

• An income tax deduction worth up to $3,000 a year for anyone who moves to a rural area. The tax break would double in counties that also give real estate property tax discounts for new residents. The group did not say how much it might cost the state.
• State funding for internet companies to offer high-speed service in underserved areas. About 16 percent of Georgians lack access to broadband internet.
• Establishment of a Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovations, possibly at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, to assist communities in recruiting businesses and identifying growth areas.
• Elimination of the state’s Certificate of Need regulation for hospitals in populated areas with many health care options, while keeping rules in effect for rural areas, where hospitals are struggling to survive. That would do nothing new for rural hospitals because they already are covered by the state’s CON law, the regulation that restricts private companies’ ability to cherry-pick the profitable functions of hospitals.

Niesse reports that the cost of the proposals won't be clear until they're introduced and vetted as specific bills. 



from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2jZgGsc Georgia House committee proposes tax breaks, better broadband to lure people to rural areas - Entrepreneur Generations

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