McGorty : Changes to Budget Don’t Stem Massive Tax Hike

Despite weeks of withering criticism over their budget that hammers the middle class with tax hikes and hamstrings businesses from expanding, the Democrats made few improvements to the final product which will lead to future deficits, State Representative Ben McGorty (R-122) said today, during a special session of the state House of Representatives.

The session was required because the Democratic-led legislature left unfinished business on the table when it adjourned June 3. The Stratford legislator said the extra work on the budget made it no better, hitting the middle class with hikes in property taxes, income taxes and sales taxes totaling nearly $1.4 billion.

“The tax that distressed businesses most was the new one that would require corporations to pay taxes on companies that they run out of state retroactively to the beginning of the year,” said Rep. McGorty.  “All they could manage to do was postpone the imposition of this tax until this coming January. A six month reprieve isn’t much to brag about.  Very little has been changed in this budget during special session that makes any substantial change to the magnitude of this latest tax increase we are all about to be hit with.”

Adjustments made to the budget today roll back only 10 percent, at most, of the original $1.8 billion in tax hikes that alarmed state businesses, middle class families and taxpayers. The Democrats paid for much of the tax rollbacks by diverting more than $100 million in additional revenue from sales tax increases that were intended to go to towns and cities.

In addition, homeowners will also see their property tax break reduced, costing Connecticut homeowners roughly $100 million.

The budget passed the House of Representative by a vote of 78-65, without any Republicans voting in favor.

McGorty noted that despite the massive tax increase, budget deficits were very likely to continue materializing because the Connecticut economy cannot support the sustained tax increases and elevated government spending that have been the hallmark of the Malloy administration and legislative Democrats.