May 2, 2017

Rep. Zupkus, Republicans Release “No Tax Increase” Budget Proposal

This article was archived from the previous WordPress site. Formatting and media should be close, but may not match the original post perfectly.

HARTFORD- State Rep. Lezlye Zupkus joined her Republican colleagues on Thursday for a press conference to unveil their no tax increase budget proposal. The Republican budget proposal focuses on making long-term structural changes, reducing the size of the state government, and reining in out-of-control state spending.

“We have the vision and plan to move our state forward without the need for tax increases,” said Rep. Zupkus. “Residents and businesses have been hit hard by the two largest tax increases in our state’s history over the past six years. Our residents and business are losing confidence in our state government and our budget looks to restore their confidence. We are ready to lead and ready to move Connecticut in a new direction towards fiscal stability and sustainability.”

The Republican budget spends $700 million less than the Democrats’ budget and $313 million less than the governor’s budget. The GOP budget finally establishes a true spending cap with tight restrictions and restores a balanced budget.

Unlike the governor’s education plan, the Republican budget creates a fair and fully functional formula for the distribution of regular and special education funding. Under the GOP formula, towns will receive adequate funding and can plan school budgets well into the future. The Republican budget also accepts full responsibility for paying teachers’ pensions.

Another notable difference between the GOP’s plan and the governor’s plan is tax relief for the middle class and seniors. The Republican plan restores the governor’s cuts to the property tax credit for senior and families and phases out the income tax on pensions and annuity income. In addition, Republicans are looking to exempt social security from income tax for middle-class seniors.

The lawmakers also noted that the Republican proposal does not approve spending $250 million for updates on the XL Center and reverses the governor’s proposal to increase gun permit fees by nearly 400 percent.

Last week, the majority party Democrats in the Appropriations Committee failed to pass a budget proposal by the committee deadline. House and Senate Republicans asked the Democrat chairs on the Appropriations Committee to call a meeting on Thursday to take a vote on the Republican balanced no tax increase budget, but the Democrats refused to call the meeting.

###