March 7, 2016

GOP Lawmakers Aim to Eliminate “Car Wash Tax”

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Area Republican state legislators plan to testify in favor of a proposal to eliminate the sales tax on car washes.

On Wednesday, Mar. 9, the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee will hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 337: An Act Eliminating the Sales Tax on Car Wash Services.

“The car wash tax has taxpayers and small businesses in a lather, and rightly so,” said Sen. Kevin Witkos, who represents Harwinton. “There was no public hearing, so the process to raise this tax was flawed from the start. The majority of states don’t have this tax. Car wash owners only had 12 hours’ notice of the tax hike last year. Then, there is the confusion of how exactly small businesses are supposed to collect the revenue. This is the type of uncertainty that small business owners across Connecticut deal with every day. They never know when the rug will get pulled out from under them by the majority party in Hartford. A new tax hike, a new fee, or a revenue enhancement could be slapped on them at any minute.”

“We’ve got to change the way business is done in Hartford,” said Sen. Henri Martin, who represents Harwinton. “The policies that get passed by the majority party are driving car washes and other family-run operations out of business. Let’s seize this opportunity to get rid of this short-sighted tax. Let’s bring back confidence in Connecticut’s future by bringing back certainty and predictability.”

Rep. John Piscopo, a member of the legislature’s Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee who also represents Harwinton said, “We should repeal the car wash tax. This tax was bad policy, done in desperate times, by a tax-and-spend mentality that has been in place too long. The legislature should not be raising taxes at a time when families are struggling, and many are living paycheck to paycheck. Wednesday’s public hearing is an opportunity for people to voice their concerns on this burdensome tax. I encourage people to come to the State Capitol and testify or submit testimony to the committee and make their voices heard.”

To testify in favor of eliminating the tax, the lawmakers encouraged residents to:

Email testimony to FINtestimony@cga.ct.gov
Refer to the bill as Senate Bill 337.
Testimony can be as brief as you like. Just include your name and town.

The legislators said residents should feel free to copy them on their testimony at Kevin.Witkos@cga.ct.gov , Henri.Martin@cga.ct.gov, and John.Piscopo@housegop.ct.gov .

Bill 337 can be viewed at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2016/TOB/s/2016SB-00337-R00-SB.htm