by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT — Many Connecticut residents could get a tax break under an affordability plan Senate Republicans unveiled Tuesday.
The plan, which Minority Leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield said would save families thousands of dollars per year, also eliminates the public benefits charge on utility bills and moves that expense to the general fund and eliminates the car tax through an income tax credit for individuals earning less than $100,000 and joint filers earning less than $200,000 annually. This is in addition to eliminating the state income tax for single filers making up to $25,000, and reductions of between 16% and 40% for individuals making up to $100,000 and joint filers making up to $200,000.
“For some families, this could literally be $3,000 or $4,000 a year in tax relief we’re providing,” Harding said. “And we could do it right now.”
State Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, said the state could make up for the resulting revenue shortfall in the short term through adjustments to the state’s volatility cap, which is a limit on so-called volatile tax revenue, primarily personal income and pass-through taxes.
Long-term, Fazio said the plan could work by limiting government growth.
“This is eminently doable,” he said.
Deputy Minority Leader Paul Cicarella of North Haven said the priorities came from constituents.
“We didn’t just come up with these issues that we have here today,” he said. “We didn’t say the electric bills are too high. We didn’t say it’s too expensive to do business here in Connecticut. Our constituents, and clearly all the polls and the data that shows we are going in the wrong direction really fast when it comes to affordability.”
Cicarella acknowledged Democrats also were talking about affordability, but said that talk was limited to the federal level.
“And it seems like someone stubs their toe here in Connecticut, and they blame D.C.,” he said.
Democratic Senate President Martin Looney of New Haven and Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk, in a written response Tuesday afternoon, said blaming the federal government was appropriate given the federal policies they said were driving up costs in the state.
“We won’t let them use state tax credits to paper over the damage their party is doing to Connecticut workers and families,” they said.
Senate Democrats have their own affordability plan for the session, they said, which includes eliminating taxes on clothing under $100, renters and child tax credits and other initiatives.“Our affordability proposals will be part of a responsible, balanced budget because that’s what governing actually requires,” they said. “You can’t claim to be the party of affordability while your president is picking the pockets of Connecticut families.”