Rep. Polletta: Special Session Is ‘Only True Way To Eliminate Grocery Tax’

HARTFORD – State Representative Joe Polletta (R-68) on Wednesday joined House and Senate Republicans in petitioning Governor Ned Lamont to call the General Assembly into a special session for the purpose of eliminating the grocery tax set to go into effect on October 1^st.

The tax, which was inserted into the biennial state budget passed this year, would place a 1% levy on a host of prepared meals that are already taxed at the standard sales tax rate of 6.35% and would raise a new tax of 7.35% on hundreds of grocery items that could be considered meals.

Republicans have been calling attention to the grocery tax since a Department of Revenue Services (DRS) policy statement was released last week detailing what prepared foods would be affected under the new tax. According to the statement, the tax would apply to a multitude of prepared foods from rotisserie chicken to an 8-ounce bag of lettuce.

On Wednesday, House and Senate Republican lawmakers held a press conference to announce that they would be petitioning the governor to call a special session of the legislature in order to eliminate grocery stores from the list of establishments that need to apply the tax.

“Forcing a special session is the only true way to eliminate this grocery tax,” said Rep. Polletta. “Given Democrats’ track record on misleading the public, how can we trust that this tax won’t appear again in the future?”

Legislative Democrats and Governor Lamont, for their part, have been trying to downplay the significance of the DRS policy statement, saying that the administration could simply not enforce the part of the law that taxes groceries, which Rep. Polletta says does not go far enough.

He added, “Even if Governor Lamont chooses not to enforce the law as written, the door to implement these taxes under future governors and DRS Commissioners remains open because the language is still in the enacted legislation. As legislators, we need to eliminate the grocery tax altogether and protect the taxpayers we serve.”

In order to force a special session, the House of Representatives needs 76 members to submit petitions, while the Senate needs 19 petitions. Rep. Polletta submitted his petition on Wednesday evening.