By Hanish Patel and Jonathan Feldman

The Georgia Department of Revenue held a public hearing on a proposed regulation amendment that would materially affect the use of direct pay permits in Georgia. The proposed regulation would cause all current permits to expire on December 31, 2016, and require all current holders to reapply and agree to certain conditions, most notably the waiver of interest on refunds of taxes remitted on purchases made with the permit. See Prior Coverage. The Department’s proposed amendment comes amid pending Georgia legislation, H.B. 960, that seeks to redress Georgia’s current 12% interest rate by aligning the rate based on the prevailing market rate. Sutherland submitted formal comments and testified on behalf of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers advocating against final adoption of the proposed amendment given its deleterious effects for Georgia manufacturers and direct pay permit holders, and the pending legislation directly addressing the matter. (Sutherland Comments to Notice Number SUT 2016-001).