Georgia state Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie.

ATLANTA — Georgia Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, has been named to a Senate committee considering an end to the state income tax.

Watson, chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, is one of 11 senators named to the panel by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who announced the creation of the committee July 17.

Jones, who presides over the Georgia Senate, announced last week he will seek the Republican nomination for governor next year. He signaled in his opening campaign video that, if elected, he would push to get rid of the tax.

Legislative Republicans and conservative tax policy advocates have long called for abolishing Georgia’s income tax to help the state compete for jobs with neighboring states.

“Among southeast states, only South Carolina has a higher income tax rate than Georgia,” Jones said Thursday. “If we wish to remain the No.-1 state for business and keep our state competitive, we must expand on the progress made over the past four years to eliminate Georgia’s income tax.”

Term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp has steered legislation through the General Assembly gradually reducing the state’s income tax rate.

This year, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a Kemp-backed bill  to cut the tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year. Democrats who opposed the measure argued it would benefit primarily wealthy taxpayers.

The 11-member Georgia Senate Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax will include eight Republican senators and three Democrats. It will be chaired by Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, who also heads the Senate Appropriations Committee.

In addition to Tillery and Watson, other members are Sens. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas; Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming; Ed Harbison, D-Columbus; Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome; Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega; John Kennedy, R-Macon; Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta; Michael “Doc” Rhett, D-Marietta; and Larry Walker, R-Perry.

The panel will begin meeting later this summer and will have until Dec. 15 to wrap up its work and make recommendations.