The proposed Tennis Center of Georgia at Berry College is now 0-for-4 at the Governor’s office in Atlanta.

The proponents of the 84-court complex to be located on Berry College-owned property between Mount Berry Square mall and the new Armuchee connector have sought $7.5 million in bond funding from the state to jump start the $18.7 million project for the past four years, however, the project being hailed as an economic development driver for the entire Northwest Georgia region has been shut out of limited state bond packages each year.

State Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, said it is the same message that has been stated all along. 

The bond package in the governor’s budget includes $25.2 million for water supply projects, $15 million in bond sales for Georgia World Congress Center upgrades and $26.5 million for state parks and lands improvements.

Dempsey said the example of what is taking place at the Lakepoint Sporting Community and Town Center project in Bartow County, and how they have moved forward, have been a part of the discussion. Lakepoint investors attracted private capital for their youth sports, retail, medical and residential and also won bond support from the Cartersville-Bartow County Development Authority.

Thus far supporters of the Tennis Center of Georgia have not announced any private support for the project during the past four years and have not gone to either the Development Authority of Floyd County or the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority for locally back bond support.

The Berry College donation of property, nearly 30 acres, along with in-kind aid from Rome and Floyd County work crews, would have accounted for $5.6 million of the budget.

The original 2009 economic impact summary for the tennis center, performed by Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia, estimated that the recurring annual economic impact for what was originally a 74-court center was between $16.1 million and $28.1 million.

Scott Bentley, one of the leaders of the Coosa Valley Tennis Association and a leading proponent of the Tennis Center of Georgia, said the tennis project would be a long-term investment for the state and would bring revenue into Georgia for many years.

Bentley said he believes state leadership — including Gov. Nathan Deal — does have an understanding of the economic development aspect of the Tennis Center. 

Lisa Smith, director of the greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she really thought the project would be further along at this point. 

Read more: RN-T.com – Tennis Center of Georgia aced by Gov Deal s office 

A report issued Thursday along with Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget shows that the biggest tax breaks go to individual Georgians rather than large companies.

As legislators begin grappling this week with another round of budget cuts and a proposal to extend a controversial tax on hospital revenues, some groups are calling for the closing of tax loopholes.

Tax collections so far this fiscal year are coming in below the projected rate, prompting Deal to order all state agencies — except K-12 education — to trim 3 percent from their spending. At the same time, costs for Medicaid are more than $300 million over budget already this year, not counting a nearly $700 million hole that would be left in the budget if the hospital tax isn’t extended.

Legislative budget writers started requiring governors in recent years to submit a document called the Tax Expenditure Report that estimates how much each tax break leaves in the private economy and out of the government’s use.

The largest tax breaks is the so-called personal exemption from individual income taxes representing $1 billion. Exemptions for retirement income, $697 million, Social Security, $140 million, and credit for taxes paid to other states, $185 million, are also among the largest ways private Georgians keep from forking more over to the government.

Exemptions from the sales tax also benefit individuals, including $509 million on food, $423 million for prescriptions, $171 million on lottery tickets and $8 million on school lunches. The sales-tax holidays that temporarily exempt school supplies save another $41 million.

There are many more itemized tax breaks for various business interests, but for smaller amounts each. For instance, the motion-picture industry saves film production companies $86 million. Deferral of capital-construction costs for shipping companies amounts to less than $1 million.

Some business tax breaks are due to expire this year. A break on seed, fertilizer and farm chemicals that ended Jan. 1 totaled $150 in the last fiscal year. The exemption of certain machinery used in the manufacturing of consumer items expired the same time and amounted to $175 million last year.

One due to expire in June is the sales tax exemption for airplane engine-repair parts worth $7 million last year. It’s being pushed by companies like Gulfstream Aerospace which argues jobs would be lost if airplane customers took their business to states that don’t charge the tax.

The next nine years could prove tough financially for Chattanooga-based hospitals because of changes in federal reimbursements for patient care under the Affordable Care Act, an industry analysis projects.

Seven hospitals collectively stand to lose nearly $400 million in special Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements through 2021, according to Tennessee Hospital Association figures obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

The special payments are intended to compensate hospitals for the free care they provide to the uninsured. Hospitals have been counting on making up most if not all of the reductions by covering the uninsured through health insurance exchanges or an expanded Medicaid program.

Gov. Bill Haslam hasn't said if he will expand TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, to take in an estimated 182,000 low-income Tennesseans. The federal government would pick up the full cost of the expansion for the first three years, dropping to 90 percent in 2019 and thereafter.

The Feburary luncheon of the Chattooga County Chamber of Commerce is set for noon, Feb. 5, at a location yet to be determined. The event is sponsored by Redmond Regional Medical Center. The deadline to RSVP is February 4. For more information contact the chamber at info@chattoogachamber.org and click on the chamber/luncheon tab, or call  706.857.4033