Rep. Vail decries new tax-laden budget

HARTFORD — Hard-working, already-overtaxed working families will face the brunt of a controversial $2 billion tax hike passed today by state lawmakers, Rep. Kurt Vail said.

Citing concerns from the campaign trail and from face-to-face constituent meetings over recent months, Vail voiced his opposition against the two-year $40 billion tax-and-spend package, which raises $19.82 billion in fiscal year 2015-16 and $20.47 billion in 2016-17.

“What I have heard for months, and what constituents have been telling me is this: ‘We need to stop spending so much; the tax increases are too much,’” Vail said. “I came to Hartford to represent Somers and Stafford with resounding concerns about inflated spending and terrible governing practices. This budget the Democrats pushed through and its tax hikes is just more of the same – and that’s extremely disappointing. We can do better.

“Hospitals like Johnson Memorial will have more burdensome taxes imposed on them, adversely impacting their future viability. We can’t afford to lose their service,” Vail added.

The budget, passed on a thin 73-70 vote, obliterates the constitutional spending cap – an understanding set between voters and the government during the 1991 income tax implementation. The budget introduces new taxes to data processing services, car washes, surgeries, and includes hikes on businesses, insurance providers, hospitals and cigarettes, to name a few.