Stratford Legislators Oppose Majority Democrats’ $2.25 Billion Tax Hike Budget

Representative Harkins, state Representative Lawrence G. Miller, and state Senator Dan Debicella have voted against the Democrat majority’s state budget plan, saying the proposal, which would increase taxes by $2.25 billion, will prolong the recession, mean more jobs losses, and unfairly targets the middle class.
The legislators said they hope Governor M. Jodi Rell quickly vetoes the $35-billion biennial state budget so work can begin on a responsible, bipartisan compromise. The state Senate passed the budget on Thursday, and the state House of Representatives passed the budget Friday. Governor Rell has indicated she will veto the budget.

“The budget proposal being pushed by the state legislature’s supermajority Democrats is little more than a warmed over version of their earlier plan that called for a $3.3 billion tax hike over two years” said Representative Harkins, R-120th District. “There is simply no excuse for a budget that increases taxes by $2.25 billion at a time when the state is in the grip of a recession that has hung on for more than a year and shows no sign of abating. The jobless rate in Connecticut is now at 8 percent, the worst it has been in years; employers are continuing to cut back, lay off workers and close their doors forever. The massive tax increases legislative Democrats support are a blueprint for a longer recession and more job losses. That’s why I voted to reject their budget and to support the Republican alternative budget that does not raise taxes, is balanced and preserves all municipal aid including funding for schools and public libraries.”

“Over the past 20 years, state budgets have been increasing at a rate that has impacted our employment base, causing job losses and straining our citizens’ ability to provide for their families. The Democrat supermajority is now giving the state the highest tax increase in history at a time we are reeling from the worst financial crisis since the Depression,” said Representative Miller, R-122nd District.
“I voted against this budget because it would have raised taxes by $500 to $1,000 for every middle-class family in Connecticut,” said Senator Debicella, R-21st District, the leading Republican Senator on the Appropriations Committee. “State government has to do the same thing our families are doing- tightening our belts through moderate reductions in spending. I support Governor Rell’s approach of reducing spending on programs by 5-10%. While neither choice is ideal, I believe most families would rather have moderate across-the-board reductions than higher taxes.”

The Stratford legislators noted that the Democrat majority’s budget calls for: a 25 % surcharge on businesses, increasing taxes on cigarettes by 75 cents per pack; an additional 25% surcharge on the estate tax; increased income taxes; and raising a variety of other fees and taxes that will make living and working in Connecticut more expensive for everyone.

Representatives Harkins and Miller, and Senator Debicella noted that most of the spending cuts included in the Democrat majority’s budget are due to savings realized by state employee concessions and the state employee retirement incentive plan negotiated by Governor M. Jodi Rell, as well as spending cuts already made by the Governor and carried forward into the new budget. “There are very few real spending cuts here beyond what we have already achieved,” Senator Debicella said.

The three legislators continue to strongly support the Republicans’ alternative proposal, unveiled earlier this year, which avoids massive tax increases through moderate spending reductions, merging state agencies, and moving some social services to non-profit community providers. The Republicans’ proposal contains no tax increases and maintains all funding for education and town grants. Many aspects of the Republican legislators’ ideas are incorporated in Governor Rell’s recently updated budget proposal.