Earlier this week the State Tax Panel, charged with studying
and evaluating possible reforms and modernizations to Connecticut’s tax system,
convened for their first meeting in Hartford.
The Tax Panel was created by the legislature as a result of Public
Act 14-217, Section 137, and requires the Chairs of the Finance, Revenue
and Bonding Committee to convene a panel of 15 appointed experts, plus
alternates, to study the overall state and local tax structure in Connecticut. Members of the panel must include experts in
tax law, accounting, tax policy, economics and business and government finance,
but cannot include sitting legislators.
While members of the panel will all be looking at many areas of the tax
system along with ways to modernize administration of the tax code, the panel
will be broken down into subcommittees to focus on: personal income taxes, including estate and
gift taxes; business taxes, including excise taxes; consumer taxes; and
property taxes.
Regarding property
taxes, the panel must specifically consider options for creating a tiered
property tax system for government, non-profit or other exempt properties. While the panel’s initial deadline for a
report to the legislature is January 1, 2015, they may also extend that to
January 1, 2016.
The last time a similar
comprehensive tax study was conducted in Connecticut was 1990, just prior to
the implementation of the state income tax. The next meeting of the State Tax Panel is tentatively scheduled for
October 23rd, and NFIB/Connecticut will be closely monitoring the
activities of the panel moving forward.
