Forum examines state tax policy; Panelists say certainty, stability vital

April 24, 2015

Article as it appeared in the Waterbury Republican-American

BY DAVID KRECHEVSKY
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

Stephen LaRosa, left, of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, left, listens to a question along with state Comptroller Kevin Lembo, second from left, Sen. Scott LaFrantz, R-Greenwich, and moderator Keith Phaneuf of The Connecticut Mirror during a discussion about state tax policy Thursday at Shebeen Brewing Co. in Wolcott. Petrosky — Twin sons, Bentley Tyler and Mason Tyma, to Kevin Petrosky and Jennifer Fenske of Waterbury, April 10, at Waterbury Hospital.
Stephen LaRosa, left, of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, left, listens to a question along with state Comptroller Kevin Lembo, second from left, Sen. Scott LaFrantz, R-Greenwich, and moderator Keith Phaneuf of The Connecticut Mirror during a discussion about state tax policy Thursday at Shebeen Brewing Co. in Wolcott. Petrosky — Twin sons, Bentley Tyler and Mason Tyma, to Kevin Petrosky and Jennifer Fenske of Waterbury, April 10, at Waterbury Hospital.

Stephen LaRosa, left, of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, left, listens to a question along with state Comptroller Kevin Lembo, second from left, Sen. Scott LaFrantz, R-Greenwich, and moderator Keith Phaneuf of The Connecticut Mirror during a discussion about state tax policy Thursday at Shebeen Brewing Co. in Wolcott. Petrosky — Twin sons, Bentley Tyler and Mason Tyma, to Kevin Petrosky and Jennifer Fenske of Waterbury, April 10, at Waterbury Hospital.
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WOLCOTT — A state comptroller, a state senator and an accountant walked into a bar.

While that sounds like the start of a joke, it actually was the start of a lively discussion on state public policy issues that kicked off Thursday night at the Shebeen Brewing Co. on Wolcott Road.

The forum, titled “The Tax Issue,” was the first in a series of four “Public Policy Pairings” scheduled at breweries across the state and produced by The Connecticut Mirror, a nonprofit news outlet that reports on politics and state government.

Thursday’s forum, attended by about 35 people, offered a discussion by three panelists: state Comptroller Kevin Lembo, a Democrat; Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, and Stephen LaRosa, an accountant and senior director for state and local tax at Cheshire-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The discussion was candid and often amusing, thanks in part to moderator Keith Phaneuf, the state budget reporter for ctmirror.org. He first asked the panel which part of the state’s tax system is not “working the best.”

While Lembo said the property tax is “the most broken” and Frantz said the estate tax is driving millions of dollars in potential tax revenue from the state, LaRosa set the tone for the evening by saying the lack of certainty in the state’s tax structure is the real issue.

He noted that Connecticut’s 6.35 percent sales tax is not that different from the 6.25 percent sales tax in neighboring Massachusetts, but said the taxes are applied differently.

“Massachusetts does not tax business services,” he said. “Connecticut taxes business consulting. It’s taxing business input,” creating a disincentive.

Phaneuf later asked the panel how to bring “sanity” to the state sales tax, which he said includes “50 bascillion” exemptions.

“Whatever exemptions we’ve got, … it doesn’t seem to follow any rational pattern,” Lembo said.

Frantz agreed. “If you did lower the sales tax substantially and apply it to everything, you could lower it to 2 or 3 percent and it would be more fair,” he said.

Fairness and certainty were recurring topics, whether discussing the way the state handles economic incentives and tax credits or the state’s roller-coaster ride from budget crisis to budget crisis. All three panelists agreed that taxpayers, whether corporate or individuals, want certainty. “Let’s make it predictable and let’s make it stable,” LaRosa said.

The next Public Policy Pairings event, on road transportation issues, is set for April 28 at Two Roads Brewing Co. in Stratford. The others will be held May 12 at Thomas Hooker Brewing Co. in Bloomfield, on the business climate, and May 19 at Half Full Brewery in Stamford, on rail transportation issues.