The introduction of inventory legislation that allows tax exemption in Georgia is expected to encourage job growth in the state by helping retailers compete with those in nearby states that don't have an inventory tax.

House Bill 48, which was recently signed by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, creates a Level 2 Freeport Exemption for business inventories that did not meet Level 1 Exemption qualifications. According to statistics from the Georgia Department of Revenue, more than 60 percent of the state's counties and cities have adopted the Freeport Exemption to some degree.

Specifically, as Valdosta CEO explains, governments can "authorize a call for a referendum to approve the creation of a Level Two Freeport Exemption, which would exempt from local property tax any business inventory or real property not covered in the current Freeport Exemption."

The inventory compliance legislation exempts property from taxation at rates of 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent, 80 percent or 100 percent. 

Read the full bill here.