Our No-Tax Increase Budget Proposal

September 13, 2017

Connecticut Senate and House Republicans recently joined together to release a revised two-year state budget proposal with no new taxes that would put a stop to the governor’s harmful executive order. This budget restores funding for education and core social services and provides towns and cities with the stability that they need.
The revised budget includes no tax increases and rejects the governor’s proposal to shift teacher pension costs onto towns and cities that would further burden municipalities and lead to increased property taxes. The Republican budget proposal combines elements of the Senate and House Republicans’ multiple prior budget proposals, feedback from Democrats, and factors in the legislature’s passage of the state employee labor concessions deal that is now law. The original Republican budget was first released in April and updated throughout the year as the state’s financial situation changed.
The budget proposal we released today includes the following:

  • No New Taxes
    •    No increase or expansion of the sales tax
    •    No income tax increase
    •    No new tax on nonprescription drugs
    •   No new restaurant sales tax
    •    No new cell phone tax
    •    No new or increased hospital tax
    •    No increase to the pistol permit fee
    •    No increase to the hotel tax
    •   Restores funding for the state’s property tax credit in its entirety to all families and individuals
  • Restores Education Funding and implements a new funding formula
  • Restores Funding for Core Social Services including fully funding day and employment services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and reopening Care4Kids.
  • Protects Aging-in-Place Services for Seniors including Meals on Wheels, the personal needs allowance, non ADA dial a ride, and the CT Home Care Program.
  • Reduces Taxes for seniors
  • Includes Structural Changes to achieve long-term savings and reduce the size of government

 

We want bipartisan solutions, but we cannot vote for something that will only bring us right back into a deficit. That is why we are offering this budget and hope to have a vote tomorrow on this plan.
We hope Democrat lawmakers will join us and see the value in our proposal.
We will continue to work toward common-sense policies that put Connecticut back on a path of fiscal responsibility, proposals that create the stability and predictability that our businesses and hard-working families need.
Review our revised budget, here