On March 15th, the Connecticut General Assembly’s joint Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee held a hearing that considered proposals to increase taxes on Connecticut businesses and families. This latest move to raise taxes comes as Democratic lawmakers in Connecticut have pressured Governor Ned Lamond (D) to increase spending and taxes on Connecticut businesses and families.
During the hearing, proposals to raise taxes included an increase of the capital gains tax to 13.99%, an increase of top income tax rate to 13% from 6.99%, an overall increase of the estate and corporate tax, and the introduction of a statewide property tax. These proposals join the long list of other proposals meant to increase taxes in Connecticut.
In January, Sen. Martin Looney (D) proposed a mansion tax of $1 for every $1000 of a property’s value over $300,000. Similarly, the Labor and Public Employees Committee recently approved a partisan bill that would give public sector unions enormous power to convince new government employees to pay union dues against their will and “codify union membership cards into state law.”
With Connecticut already having some of the nation’s highest taxes, an increase in taxes would only further worsen the state’s tax climate. According to the Tax Foundation, Connecticut’s State Business Tax climate ranks 47th in the nation. Connecticut’s individual, property, and corporate taxes are among the highest in the nation. Adding even more to the tax burden will just unnecessarily burden and set back businesses and families already hurting from the COVID-19 economic shutdowns.
Thankfully, however, the latest budget proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont does not include significant tax increases. The governor put it simply, “Why would you want to raise taxes when you don’t have to?”
What the Governor is referring to is that Connecticut has enjoyed higher than expected revenues, largely due to New York City commuters being stuck at home. On top of that, the state now is flush with “relief” money from Congress.
Hopefully, the governor will have the wherewithal to stick to his plan to not raises taxes and his tax-hungry Democratic colleagues fail to burden Connecticut with tax increases.