February 11, 2019

Important Finance Public Hearing – Wed 2/13

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As you may have heard, Senate President Martin Looney is proposing a sales tax increase for Connecticut. His bill, Senate Bill 47 5, would increase the Connecticut sales tax rate to 6.85 percent. According to his proposal, the additional revenue would be distributed back to the municipality where the transaction took place. Regardless of where revenue goes, this bill would raise taxes on Connecticut’s residents.

As a member of the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee, which has oversight over our state’s tax policy, I would like to hear your opinion on this proposed tax increase.

The committee will hold a public hearing on this proposal on Wednesday, February 13th, at 11 a.m. in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

In addition, the following bills will also be part of the public hearing and may be of interest:

House Bill 5699, AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEDUCTION AND WITHHOLDING OF THE PERSONAL INCOME TAX FROM PENSION PAYMENTS.

This proposal would eliminate the requirement that income tax be deducted and withheld from pension payments unless the payee has submitted a CTW4P withholding certificate to the payer. I heard from many constituents that the 2017 law, which this bill seeks to reverse, created confusion and led to an automatic 6.99 percent withholding on pensions.

House Bill 626 2, AN ACT EXCLUDING HEALTH AND ATHLETIC CLUB SERVICES FROM THE SALES TAX.

This proposal would eliminate the sales tax on dues and initiation fees at health clubs and gyms. I proposed this legislation because I feel that our tax code should not punish an individual for taking the initiative to try to get healthy and fit. Many states do not impose sales taxes on these services and I believe Connecticut should join them.

House Bill 6464, AN ACT IMPOSING A TAX ON LIQUID VAPING PRODUCTS.

This is a bipartisan proposal that seeks to tax liquid vaping products at the same percentage as tobacco products.

For a full public hearing agenda, please click here.

If you would like to testify in person on any of the bills within the Finance Committee’s agenda, please click here for instructions and let me know if you plan on coming up.

If you are unable to testify in person, expressing your opinion can be as simple as sending an email as public testimony on the proposal. Below are the instructions on how to send in brief testimony:

Send a brief email to: FINtestimony@cga.ct.gov
Put the bill number that corresponds with your testimony in the subject line
Copy me at: devin.carney@housegop.ct.gov
Include your name, town, and opinion on the bill proposal in the body of the email

Please note: All public testimony is entered into the public record, and may be accessible via search engines like other public documents.

As always, if you would like to speak with me about a concern regarding state government, please email me at Devin.Carney@housegop.ct.gov or call 800-842-1423.

Sincerely,

Follow my legislative activity and sign up to receive my newsletter at: www .RepCarney.com