Zupkus op-ed: Another new tax? When is enough, enough?
Earlier this year, Governor Malloy unveiled his 30-year, $100 billion transportation plan to invest in and upgrade our state’s transportation infrastructure. He appointed a special working group, the Transportation Finance Panel, to research options to fund this massive plan and make recommendations to the General Assembly following their assessment.
I find it interesting that the governor has charged a panel with doing this work when we have committees in the General Assembly whose purview this issue falls under, namely the Transportation committee, and the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding committee.
For those of you immediately questioning if the governor’s panel will look to use the money in your wallet to finance his transportation plan, the answer is, ‘Yes’! One revenue-generating idea being floated by the panel is to impose yet another new tax on Connecticut residents in order to pay for the transportation plan. A ‘mileage tax’ would be assessed on you, the driver, based on the number of miles you drive your car per year, and would be determined by a Global Positioning System (GPS) installed in your car. The proposed tax would apply only to Connecticut residents, not to out-of-state drivers who use our roads daily or drive through our state.
It is unconscionable that the governor is considering ways to raise taxes on the citizens of Connecticut just mere weeks after the second largest tax increase in state history. It is preposterous to think that not only would you pay extra to drive to and from work, but also if you need to take a trip to Stop & Shop for groceries and house staples, or want to take your family to enjoy an ice cream in town, you’re going to pay extra.
This is an undue burden on the already over-taxed middle class taxpayers. We continue to see more money taken directly from our pay, leaving less money in our wallets to pay bills and care for our loved ones. When is enough, enough for this governor and the Democrat-led majority of the Connecticut General Assembly?
It is also a personally intrusive burden the likes of which we’ve never seen. With this proposed mileage tax, a GPS tracking device installed in your vehicle will collect data on the miles you’ve driven. This overreach of the state government is an invasion of the personal privacy of law abiding citizens and a slippery slope that I suggest extreme caution on.
Also of concern is the administrative burden this program would place on our state. To implement such a program would require the hiring and oversight of more state employees, which means a larger state government. This mileage tax is wrong for our state and for the hardworking taxpayers, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck.
With Connecticut ranked as the 47th worst state in the nation for small businesses*, I am also concerned about how this new tax would affect our business community. By raising taxes we continue to show that Connecticut is not open for business. Rather than investing in their businesses, companies may decide not to expand or hire more employees, and may consider altogether relocating out of state, a phenomenon we continue to see happening as a result of increasing taxes.
Nonetheless, the panel will submit their recommendations, which may include the mileage tax, in a final report due in October. There is also speculation that the legislature may convene in another special session to approve the plan before year end.
I am strongly opposed to this unnecessary tax increase and I am outraged at the intrusive manner in which this tax would be imposed on private citizens. I imagine many of you feel the same.
I would like to hear your thoughts on this issue and I urge you to contact my office via email at Lezlye.Zupkus@housegop.ct.gov or by phone (860) 240-8700 or toll free (800) 842-1423.
*Source: The 50-State Small Business Regulation Index, Pacific Research Institute, July 2015