Administrative Law and Government
The two bodies which are mostly associated with administrative decisions are the legislature and the judiciary. Administrative decisions will affect the rights and interests of the citizens either at the federal or state levels influencing tax rates, business, building permits, and environmental issues. Many such decisions have been made in the state of Georgia (place of residence).
The administrative decision that has affected me in the recent past and will be discussed in this paper is on the Georgia State lawmakers’ decision to move forward with the proposal to cut the state income tax rate further and introduce a flat tax rate (Highland, 2020). At the onset of this bill, while it was still at the proposal stage, many people thought that it would be beneficial as there would be lesser taxes for the citizen to pay. However, as the days progress, it is clear that this bill benefits Georgia’s high-income earners, leaving the low and middle class at a disadvantage.
Its effect has been a budget cut on essential services that the State of Georgia offers to its residents. Graaf et al. (2017) note that administrative decisions should note the interests of the citizens and the state revenue. This is a decision that did not take this into account. The cutting of the income tax rate has led to a reduction in the revenue that the state of Georgia previously collected, which is detrimental to the effectiveness of the services that the state was able to offer previously. The budget cuts on essential services such as health and education see the middle and low-income earners in Georgia dig deeper into their pockets to ensure that they compensate for this gap.
Graaf et al. (2017) also note that administrative decisions must treat all citizens equally, whether they are high income or low-income earners. This is something that was not considered carefully in the enactment of this administrative decision. The Georgian high-income earner is getting tax savings averaging $4,200. These tax savings are at the expense of the low or middle-income earners like myself, who will have to experience higher tax payments. Additionally, I have found that there is less money available for savings than the previous taxing system in Georgia, where people were taxed according to income. This is because sometimes the tax that I am paying will eat into my salary. Sometimes I also have to dig deeper into my pockets for access to essential services.
On the positive side, however, more companies have moved to Georgia due to the lowered state income tax rate. This has created more job opportunities. It has also created an opportunity for people interested in administrative law to see how administrative decisions may affect the public and the government both in the short and long term. For instance, there has been an understanding that companies will venture into states where they view favorable aspects in terms of the taxes that they will pay or their employees will have to pay. This is in the short term. However, there has been the realization that to keep these companies flowing into the state. There is the need to couple up such a strategy with smart ways such as speeding up the permit process and removing excessive regulations.
References
Graaf, K.J., Hans, A.T., & Ridder, J. (2017). Administrative Decision-Making and Legal Quality: An Introduction. Europa Law Publishing
Highland, C. (2020). Lawmakers Move Forward With State Income Tax Rate Cut, Tax Code Reform. GBPI. https://gbpi.org/lawmakers-move-forward-with-state-income-tax-rate-cut-tax-code-reform/