Shelton Lawmakers Talk to Business Owners Frustrated with Anti-Business Climate

SHELTON – State Representatives Jason Perillo, Ben McGorty and State Senator Kevin Kelly met with business owners and professionals on Tuesday morning to discuss the impact of legislation that was passed during the 2019 session will have on their industries.

During the 2019 session, the majority party Democrats passed major anti-business bills, which included increasing the minimum wage to $15, implementing a payroll tax to fund paid family leave, raising the business filing fees and reducing the tax credit for pass-through entities.

The lawmakers explained that they wanted to host the forum to make businesses aware of what was passed and how to prepare for the new laws. They also urged businesses to be vocal about how policies discussed in Hartford will impact them and make their voices heard during the legislative session.

“Democratic lawmakers and Governor Ned Lamont say they care about business owners but this couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Rep. Perillo. “These anti-business bills will cost businesses more money and could cause more to close their doors. Instead of asking businesses for more we should be asking what we can do to make it easier for them to do business in our state.”

“We are one of the worst states in the nation to do business in and this session the Democrats decided to pass more bills that will not get us out of the dead last rankings,” added Rep. McGorty. “I want to let businesses know Rep. Perillo, Sen. Kelly and I have their backs and will continue to fight for them in Hartford, but we also need their help in speaking out against these bills when they come before the legislature.”

Sen. Kelly said, “I love our state, but every time Democrat lawmakers and the governor add new burdens on jobs it becomes more difficult for our families to thrive. This year I worked to preserve core services and to successfully prevent many new taxes from being forced upon Connecticut residents. But Democrats in the majority still approved many policies and tax increases that will cause damage. We need to pass policies that allows CT to grow and flourish by leveraging our strengths, not simply adding more burdens. I want to thank my constituents who came out to our meeting and all those who have reached out to me directly about their struggles. When a business struggles, so do their workers, so do their families and so does the community. We cannot lose sight of that as we develop policies to pave a way to success and prosperity for our state and all residents.”

Business owners who attended the event expressed their frustrations that the state can’t balance their budget and continue to ask businesses small and large to pay more.

The Tax Foundation recently ranked Connecticut 47th out of 50 states as one of the worst business tax climates in the country.

To learn more about the anti-business bills the pass this session you can visit cthousegop.com.

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