Wilton-Based Blue Buffalo Pet Products Looks to Indiana for Expansion Plan

Fasano, Boucher: State’s fiscal policies have resulted in another company not expanding in Connecticut

Hartford – Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) and Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) released the following statement regarding a Wilton-based pet food manufacturer’s decision to expand its business in Indiana. Blue Buffalo Pet Products, headquartered in Connecticut, announced that it will invest over $100 million in Indiana to build a new production and distribution facility. The project would create an estimated 160 jobs. The company could receive $1.6 million in state tax credits.

“Once again our state’s fiscal policies have resulted in another company not expanding in Connecticut. The state has become numb to these types of announcements. Years of turning a blind eye to the problems and proposing the same anti-job policies have pushed people to look elsewhere and chased jobs out of our state. And as a result the middle and working class are the ones who suffer.

“Maybe advertising really does work. It was almost a year ago that Indiana ran a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal urging Connecticut companies to move to the Hoosier state. The message was simple: ‘friends don’t let friends pay high taxes.’

“The package Indiana is offering is modest compared to the packages Connecticut has handed out in its system of choosing winners and losers. While Connecticut’s First Five program and special handouts have averaged a cost to the state of approximately $90,000 per job in loans and grants, Indiana’s package only has a potential for approximately $10,000 per job in performance based tax credits – meaning the jobs have to be created first. What’s perhaps more attractive here is the potential to grow in an environment with less tax burdens and more reliability.

“Connecticut is a great state but we have to change the way we operate to create an environment that supports the needs of our families and grows jobs. We cannot punish employers who are successful. We must create a pro-growth environment that helps all Connecticut businesses, not just a select few. We also need structural changes to create a prosperous and sustainable state. We need to make our state reliable and predictable. We need lawmakers to recognize that business as usual in the state of Connecticut is not good enough.”

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