Creation of special districts; tax rate.

(c) Nothing in this article shall be construed as limiting the establishment of a fund or funds which would provide at least 20 years of maintenance and operation costs from proceeds of the special district transportation sales and use tax used to construct, finance, or otherwise develop transit capital projects; provided, however, that the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, created by an Act approved March 10, 1965 (Ga. L. 1965, p. 2243), as amended, shall not be authorized to use any proceeds from the special district transportation sales and use tax for expenses of maintenance and operation of such portions of the transportation system of such authority in existence on January 1, 2011.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this Code section, any tax imposed under this article shall be at the rate of 1 percent. Except as to rate, a tax imposed under this article shall correspond to the tax imposed by Article 1 of this chapter. No item or transaction which is not subject to taxation under Article 1 of this chapter shall be subject to a tax imposed under this article, and a tax imposed under this article shall not apply to:

(1) The sale or use of any type of fuel used for off-road heavy-duty equipment, off-road farm or agricultural equipment, or locomotives;

(2) The sale or use of jet fuel as such term is defined in Code Section 48-8-2, except to the extent allowed pursuant to Code Section 48-8-3.5;

(3) The sale or use of fuel that is used for propulsion of motor vehicles on the public highways. For purposes of this paragraph, a motor vehicle means a self-propelled vehicle designed for operation or required to be licensed for operation upon the public highways;

(4) The sale or use of energy used in the manufacturing or processing of tangible goods primarily for resale; or

(5) Motor fuel as defined under paragraph (9) of Code Section 48-9-2 for public mass transit. The tax imposed pursuant to this article shall only be levied on the first $5,000.00 of any transaction involving the sale or lease of a motor vehicle. The tax imposed pursuant to this article shall be subject to any sales and use tax exemption which is otherwise imposed by law; provided, however, that the tax levied by this article shall be applicable to the sale of food and food ingredients as provided for in paragraph (57) of Code Section 48-8-3.

(e) Any tax imposed under this article on or after July 1, 2015, may be at a rate of up to 1 percent but shall not be more than 1 percent. Any rate less than 1 percent shall be in an increment of .05 percent. This subsection shall not apply to taxes under this article imposed or to be imposed under resolutions and ordinances adopted prior to July 1, 2015.

(f) Any tax imposed under this article on or after July 1, 2015, shall be required to expend at least 30 percent of the estimated revenue on projects included in the state-wide strategic transportation plan as defined in paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Code Section 32-2-22. History. Code 1981, § 48-8-241, enacted by Ga. L. 2010, p. 778, § 6/HB 277; Ga. L. 2013, p. 141, § 48/HB 79; Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 7-1/HB 170; Ga. L. 2016, p. 864, § 48/HB 737; Ga. L. 2018, Ex. Sess., p. ES7, § 3-6/HB 5EX. Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 8-1/HB 170, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Transportation Funding Act of 2015.’ ” Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 8-2/HB 170, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “It is the intention of the General Assembly, subject to appropriations and other constitutional obligations of this state, that year to year revenue increases be prioritized to fund education, transportation, and health care in this state.” Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 9-1(b)/HB 170, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “Tax, penalty, and interest liabilities and refund eligibility for prior taxable years shall not be affected by the passage of this Act and shall continue to be governed by the provisions of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated as it existed immediately prior to the effective date of this Act.” This Act became effective July 1, 2015. Law reviews. For article, “Revenue and Taxation: Amend Titles 48, 2, 28, 33, 36, 46, and 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating Respectively to Revenue and Taxation, Agriculture, the General Assembly, Insurance, Local Government, Public Utilities, and State Government,” see 28 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 217 (2011). For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 261 (2015).