Perdue to veto tax breaks, sign DOT bill

ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said he would veto a sweeping new tax break that would slash the state's capital gains tax in half over two years but will sign a vast transportation overhaul that would give state politicians vast new powers over infrastructure dollars.

Perdue said Monday adopting the tax breaks was "unattainable" amid the economic downturn.

The measure would have doled out a $2,400 income tax credit to any business that hires someone who has been unemployed for at least four weeks. And it would create a one-year "new business tax holiday" that waives the $100 filing fee for new business.

Supporters said the efforts are aimed at putting Georgians back to work as the state grapples with high unemployment rate.

But critics said the capital gains cuts would rip an even greater hole in the state's recession-ravaged budget - and would benefit only the wealthiest Georgians.

DOT BILL

State lawmakers passed the transportation makeover amid heavy lobbying from Republican leaders who argued that granting the governor and lawmakers new powers over transportation funding would help transform a dysfunctional bureaucracy.

The measure doesn't go as far as Perdue's original proposal, which would have replaced the 13-person state transportation board elected by legislators with a new agency.

But Perdue said Monday it would still help bring ``real accountability'' for Georgia's transportation policy.