Sen. McKinney’s Statement on Finance Committee’s Approval of Malloy Tax Package

State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R-Fairfield) today released the following statement after the General Assembly’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee voted along party lines to approve the governor’s tax package for FY2015:

“Unsurprisingly, Democratic leaders on the Finance and Appropriations committees have rubber stamped Governor Malloy’s gimmick-filled budget proposal, including his most infamous and disingenuous gimmick, the $55 rebate check. Like the governor’s proposal, this budget is unbalanced, fails to adequately pay down state debt, and ignores long-term structural deficiencies in state government. The result is a tax and spending plan Connecticut residents cannot afford today, and one that is projected to sink the state back into a $1 billion deficit by the middle of next year.”

The legislature’s non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) estimates that the Finance Committee’s tax package, along with the Appropriations Committee’s spending plan, plus policy decisions contained in other bills will result in an operating deficit of $44.1 million in Connecticut’s General Fund in FY 2015 (see page 2 of the attached OFA memo). Deficits of more than $1 billion are projected for out-years beginning in FY 2016.

###