The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) lists the following cons from the passage of the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST).

Fulton and DeKalb residents and consumers being taxed twice: Fulton and DeKalb County residents and any individuals or businesses purchasing items subject to the sales and use tax have been paying the one-cent MARTA Tax for nearly 40 years. These funds are exclusively collected for the operations of the current MARTA System. The proposed TSPLOST would levy an additional one percent sales tax on all transactions subject to sales and use taxation in the ten county Metro Region, including Fulton and DeKalb counties. This is double taxation within those jurisdictions. It is seen as inequitable, and unfair.

TSPLOST funds cannot be spent on current MARTA System: Language in the Transportation Investment Act prohibits the new TSPLOST funds from being spent on the maintenance or operation of the current MARTA System, which is again patently unfair.   Even so, some $540 Million is reserved for “State of Good Repair” Projects to address maintenance needs on the existing MARTA system. There is a question about how can this be done.