ATLANTA - Just as Southern cooking with lots of lard and butter isn't necessarily healthy, the way Southerners are taxed might not be the best way to raise money for government, a think tank said Friday.

The Center for a Better South released a 128-page proposal for how states such as Georgia and South Carolina could make taxes fairer while ensuring funding for vital services such as public education and health care.

"This is not necessarily about raising taxes," said Andy Brack, the president of the center.

Instead, the study includes 11 ideas for reforming tax structures, including getting rid of many sales-tax exemptions, raising the cigarette tax to the national average of 92 cents, and trying to find a way to make sure people's property taxes aren't more than they can afford.

Both Georgia and South Carolina fell somewhat short on the group's ideas, having put in place just two of the 11. That's tied for next-to-last among the nine Southern states that have an income tax.

Getting rid of sales-tax holidays for school supplies and other items and eliminating several exemptions from the taxes were among the ideas that could prove controversial.

Even former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat who showed up to support the proposal, said he was uneasy with the idea of getting rid of the school supplies holiday. But he supported the idea of getting rid of some of the sales-tax exemptions that he said were fueled by special interests.

"They're mostly (for) whoever had the best lobbyist at a particular time," Mr. Barnes said.

THE GROUP ALSO SAID any property tax reform needs to be tied to a person's ability to pay that tax, instead of widespread cuts. Mr. Brack said South Carolina, where he lives, had erred by passing a property-tax reform measure that mostly benefits the wealthy.

"If a state insists on property-tax reform, they should link it to ability to pay, not just give it across the board," he said.

Mr. Brack praised Georgia for its Commission for a New Georgia, a panel created by Gov. Sonny Perdue in hopes of reducing waste and encouraging better services. A similar group in New Mexico has made suggestions the state believes will save about $500 million by 2009, he said.

HOUSE WAYS and Means Committee Chairman Larry O'Neal, a Warner Robbins Republican who leads a panel looking at tax reform, agreed that the issue needs to be approached in a way that doesn't dramatically affect state revenues. He also said sales-tax exemptions were a potential source of unfairness.

"The truth of the matter is, tax exemptions are just a redistribution of taxes," Mr. O'Neal said.

And, like the center, Mr. O'Neal pointed out that the state hasn't changed its income-tax brackets in decades. Currently, the state taxes all income above $7,000 a year at 6 percent, a number that hasn't changed since the state began charging the tax in 1937.

"We haven't changed our tax rates in 60 years," Mr. O'Neal said.

Reach Brandon Larrabee at (404) 681-1701 or brandon.larrabee@morris.com.