The Supreme Court of Georgia handed down a ruling Tuesday impacting how affordable housing properties in the state are taxed after the owner of a Lowndes County apartment complex challenged the valuation of its property as too high.

In a unanimous decision, Justice Verda M. Colvin ruled in favor of the Gateway Pines apartment complex in the city of Hahira, Georgia, finding affordable housing developments that take advantage of federal low-income housing tax credits can be assessed based on their projected income.

However, the justice said assessors should not count the credits under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program when determining the fair market value of a development. The 22-page decision reversed a Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the Lowndes County Board of Tax Assessors

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