On Wednesday, October 25^th, the Georgia Department of Revenue sent notice to the Fulton County Tax Commissioner's Office that rejected approval of the 2017 Fulton County Tax Digest. DOR approval of the Tax Digest is required prior to tax bills being issued in all jurisdictions in Georgia. While there are numerous contributing factors for rejection outlined in the DOR letter, the main contributing factor is a sales ratio study that shows residential and agricultural taxpayers are underassessed, causing a disproportional tax burden shift towards commercial taxpayers.

"… The 2016 sales ratio study provides evidence that the county failed to adequately appraise residential and agricultural property in 2016 and failed to maintain uniformity between the classifications of property resulting in commercial, industrial, and public utility property owners carrying a disproportionate share of the tax burden." 

A motion filed by Fulton County requesting permission for temporary collection of taxes will be heard on November 3^rd. This hearing will determine if Fulton County can proceed with issuing tax bills while they work to correct the issues outlined in the DOR's letter or if Fulton County must correct the issues and resubmit the digest to the DOR prior to tax bills being issued. If the motion is approved at the hearing, tax bills would be issued shortly thereafter.

The timeline for payment shall not change due to the delay of issuance. If a property falls within the City of Atlanta taxing district, taxpayers will still have 30 days to pay City of Atlanta taxes and 45 days to pay Fulton County taxes once the bills are issued.