Makers of personal protective equipment in Georgia will get a $1,250-a-job tax break for the next five years, with lawmakers saying they want to aid the businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House voted 110-58 to agree to changes in House Bill 846 on Friday, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. The Republican Kemp released a statement Thursday supporting the bill.
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The measure would give tax credits to makers of hand sanitizer, gloves, face shields, masks respirators and other personal protective equipment, whether they were making the items before or after the COVID-19 outbreak. Yearly tax credits of $1,250 per job could be claimed for current jobs or jobs created before Jan. 1, 2025.
Rep. Burt Reeves, a Marietta Republican and a Kemp floor leader, said the benefits are projected to cost the state between $4.3 million and $13.1 million in foregone tax revenue.
The measure also would let businesses that claim one of the biggest tax credits in Georgia, for creating jobs that pay above-average wages, to use either their 2019 or 2020 job numbers to claim incentives from the state. Reeves said the idea is that businesses that may have laid off people this year will get at least as big a benefit as last year, while businesses that have kept hiring will be able to get larger incentives.