---
title: HR 1504. General Assembly; provide by general law for an income tax system; require - CA
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr1504
cite_as: HR 1504, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1504
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1504.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1504/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73706
date: 2026-03-03
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1503.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1505.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1504.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 1504
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-02-25
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Gabriel Sanchez
  - Ruwa Romman
  - Mekyah McQueen
  - Bryce Berry
  - Park Cannon
  - El-Mahdi Holly
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1504/2025
upstream_id: 2124775
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - income tax
  - constitutional amendment
  - progressive taxation
  - tax policy
  - state ballot measures
---

# HR 1504. General Assembly; provide by general law for an income tax system; require - CA

## Text

House Resolution 1504
By: Representatives Sanchez of the 42nd, Romman of the 97th, McQueen of the 61st, Berry
of the 56th, Cannon of the 58th, and others
A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to require the General Assembly to
provide by general law for an income tax system; to provide for related matters; to provide
for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article VII, Section III of the Constitution is amended by revising Paragraph IV as follows:
"Paragraph IV. <del>Increase in state income tax rate prohibited.</del> <ins>Income tax system
required.</ins> The General Assembly shall <del>not increase the maximum marginal rate of the state
income tax above that in effect on January 1, 2015</del> <ins>provide by general law for an income
tax system which shall include a progressive individual income tax. The income tax
system shall provide for substantially equal taxation of all categories of individual income."
</ins> SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as
provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the
above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:
"( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to require the General
( ) NO Assembly to provide by general law for an income tax system to be known
as the 'Tax the Rich Act'?"
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."
All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If
such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall
become a part of the Constitution of this state.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia House resolution would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to remove the current cap on the income tax rate and instead require the General Assembly to create a progressive income tax system, informally called the 'Tax the Rich Act'.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia's Constitution currently caps the state's top income tax rate at the level it was on January 1, 2015, meaning lawmakers cannot raise the maximum marginal rate above that point without a constitutional change. This resolution proposes replacing that cap with a new requirement: the General Assembly would have to set up an income tax system by general law that includes a progressive individual income tax, meaning tax rates would rise as income rises. The system would also have to tax all categories of individual income, such as wages and investment income, in substantially the same way.
Because this is a proposed constitutional amendment, it does not change tax law by itself. It would go before Georgia voters on a ballot asking whether to approve the change, described on the ballot as creating an income tax system known as the 'Tax the Rich Act.' If voters ratify it, it becomes part of the state Constitution, and the General Assembly would then need to pass the actual tax laws implementing it.

### What it does

- Removes the current constitutional cap that bars the state income tax's top rate from rising above its January 1, 2015 level.
- Requires the General Assembly to pass a general law creating an income tax system that includes a progressive individual income tax.
- Requires that system to tax all categories of individual income, such as wages and investment income, in substantially equal fashion.
- Sends the proposed constitutional change to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection, with the ballot referring to it as the 'Tax the Rich Act.'

### Who it affects

Georgia taxpayers of all income levels, since the state's income tax structure would eventually change; the General Assembly, which would be constitutionally required to write a new progressive tax law; and Georgia voters, who would decide the amendment's fate at the ballot box.

### Why it matters

If ratified, Georgia would no longer be limited to a capped, flat-style income tax rate and would instead be constitutionally required to adopt a progressive tax structure, where rates increase with income. The actual tax brackets and rates would depend on a future law the General Assembly would still need to write.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises Article VII, Section III, Paragraph IV of the Georgia Constitution, deleting the existing prohibition on raising the top income tax rate above its 2015 level.
- Section 1 replaces that language with a requirement that the General Assembly provide by general law for an income tax system including a progressive individual income tax.
- Section 1 requires the new tax system to provide for substantially equal taxation of all categories of individual income.
- Section 2 sets the ballot question voters will see, referring to the change as creating an income tax system known as the 'Tax the Rich Act.'
- Section 2 specifies that a 'Yes' vote ratifies the amendment and a 'No' vote rejects it, and that ratification makes it part of the state Constitution.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-02-25)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-03)
- Sponsors: Gabriel Sanchez, Ruwa Romman, Mekyah McQueen, Bryce Berry, Park Cannon, El-Mahdi Holly
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73706

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1504.md?full=1