Macon Chamber of Commerce endorses penny sales tax

According to Mayor Miller, residents can expect a property tax decrease if the OLOST passes.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)— The Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce endorsed the Other Local Option Sales Tax bill.

The Chamber is asking residents to vote yes on the bill, also known as the OLOST, that will add an additional one penny sales tax on items purchased in the county.

Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller says 70 percent of the OLOST would be paid for by people traveling through the county. Additionally, if the bill passes residents can expect a property tax decrease, and an increase in public safety funding. The increase in public safety funding would help with recruiting and retaining more sheriff’s deputies and first responders.

Miller says voting yes to the OLOST is a chance for residents to put their priorities upfront.

“It’s not very often you can vote yourself a tax decrease,” said Mayor Miller. “It’s not very often that you can say I want to make sure our men and women who protect and serve are taken care of financially. This is your opportunity to go direct to the polls and vote yes to give that whole opportunity for our community.”

According to Miller, to calculate your property tax savings if the OLOST passes:

• Go to the Macon-Bibb tax website to look at your property tax bill.
• The number in red reflects a 7.6 mill rollback based on collections from last year.
• Double that number to see how much money you’ll get back.

Early voting goes until October 29th. Election Day is November 2nd.