Senator Guglielmo Participates in Labor & Jobs Discussion

State Senator Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford, took part in a panel discussion with a group of small business leaders and other legislators. The forum was part of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s (CBIA) “Business Day” held at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford yesterday. Sen. Guglielmo, who serves as ranking member of the legislature’s Labor Committee, said today’s discussion was informative in the sense that having business people who are “on the front lines” in the battle to turn around our state’s economy provides legislators with first hand accounts of the challenges they are facing.

“We all seem to know that the state is struggling, but you always get a clearer perspective when you actually hear from the businesses themselves, many of whom don’t always have the time to make it up to Hartford.” said Sen. Guglielmo. “They are telling us what they need in order for them to grow and create jobs and that is what is ultimately going to turn around this economy.”

Included at the event was a presentation by CBIA regarding the “state of the (Connecticut’s) economy.” During that presentation, they referred to a study conducted by CNBC that showed Connecticut ranks 47 out of 50 when it comes to the cost of doing business. With New England traditionally slower to recover economically than the rest of the nation, the state has a lot of work to do this legislative session.

Much of the discussion surrounded what businesses need from the state. According to Sen. Guglielmo there seemed to be a general consensus that the Business Entity Tax, a $250 tax for all businesses simply for being in existence, should be repealed. “Senate Republicans have been pushing for the repeal of this tax for a few years now, and I am beginning to think everyone is starting to realize just how wrong this tax is. This tax simply punishes businesses for being in business. If we want to change the climate in Connecticut I believe that as a legislature, repealing it should be our first step,” said Sen. Guglielmo.

Sen. Guglielmo stressed the importance of business and labor working together. “I think it is very important because both management and labor need each other. The best companies are the ones that keep employees in the loop. Bringing business, labor and government together is the way in which we are going to solve this economic crisis.”