Republican lawmakers in the Peachtree State on Wednesday gave a stamp of approval to a bill that would establish an annual tax holiday on guns and gun accessories. 

The measure, SB 47, passed a 31-21 largely party-line vote in the Georgia state Senate this week, sending the proposal to the state House for further consideration. 

The bill, introduced by the chair of the Senate Majority Caucus, state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, GOP lawmaker from Paulding County, would carve out 11 days beginning on the second Friday of October each year as a tax holiday. This period roughly coincides with the traditional opening of the state's deer gun season.  

During that period, sales of firearms, ammunition, gun safes, and related accessories such as stocks, barrels, scopes, and magazines, would not be subject to Georgia's 4-percent state sales tax or local sales taxes, which average 3.42 percent. 

The State Auditor's office, citing that the state likely saw some $1.2 billion in retail firearms business in 2024, estimated the state and local coffers could lose between $2.75 and $6.8 million in tax revenue in the first year of the holiday.

Notably, SB 47 was modified in committee to add a sunset clause that would repeal the holiday on July 1, 2030, unless retained by future legislatures.  

Georgia has become a firearms industry success story in recent years, with household names like Daniel Defense, Glock, Heckler & Koch, Norma, Remington, and Taurus calling the state home.

Should SB 47 become law, Georgia wouldn't be the first state to adopt a 2A holiday. Louisiana and Mississippi already have regular Second Amendment tax holidays, set for September and August, respectively. Meanwhile, Georgia's neighbor to the south, Florida, is mulling similar legislation. 

Banner image: Made-in-Georgia Daniel Defense DDM4 rifles at the company's plant in Blackcreek. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)