Senate and House Republicans Release Revised No-Tax Increase Budget Proposal

Today Connecticut Senate and House Republicans 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 increase or expansion of the sales tax
• No increase to the cigarette tax
• No increase to digital download tax
• No new tax on nonprescription drugs
• No new restaurant sales tax
• No new or increased hospital tax
• No increase to the pistol permit fee
• No increase to the hotel tax
• No new fantasy sports tax
• No income tax increase
• Restores funding for the state’s property tax credit in its entirety to all families and individuals
• Phases out the tax on Social Security and Pension income for middle class families

We want bipartisan solutions, but we cannot vote for something that will only bring us right back into a deficit. Unfortunately that is the path Democrats continue to choose. They have rejected our proposals to implement the needed structural changes.

Nevertheless it is our responsibility to continue working until the very end and push for the policies that we were elected to fight for. That’s why we are yet again offering our ideas in a complete and balanced budget.

We hope Democrat lawmakers will see the value in our proposal.

We will continue to work toward common-sense proposals 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.