HARTFORD (April 25, 2017): The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) will be on hand this afternoon offering testimony before the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee in opposition to two revenue raising measures HB-7322 and SB-1054. According to Connecticut’s largest small business advocacy organization, these bills places too much emphasis on raising additional revenue from an already over taxed small business community.
“Discussing a higher and expanded sales tax in addition to increasing Connecticut’s personal income tax rates is simply the wrong conversation to be having at this juncture,” according to NFIB Connecticut State Director, Andrew Markowski. “Yesterday’s income tax numbers told the real story of our state fiscal situation. They clearly demonstrated that thanks to diminishing returns, our budget deficit is continuing to spiral out of control. The time to discuss addressing the fixed cost drivers of state government, consolidation of local services and an overall reduction to the size and scope of government is clearly upon us. Legislators should be both sobered and alarmed by the reality of the situation.”
Markowski is joined in offering commentary by small business owner and member of the NFIB Connecticut Leadership Council, Wendy Traub, who is expected to testify before the Committee later this afternoon. Traub is the CFO and an owner of Hemlock Directional Boring in Torrington. In written testimony, she expressed concerns regarding the bills but specifically called out Section 24 of HB-7322 which, if passed, would increase the taxable value of business property by 30%.
“With private sector job creation virtually stagnant in Connecticut, it is unfathomable that the legislature would look to business owners to fill the state budget fiscal shortfall,” said Traub. “I can say, without a doubt, that an idea of this nature will not only harm the business community, it may drive out many businesses who are already on the verge of relocating to other state’s with friendly economic atmospheres.”
The complete revenue picture is expected to be available later this week when April income tax receipt information will be made public, just as the Appropriations and Finance Committees will be finalizing a legislative budget package. The potential of continuing to face a multi billion dollar budget deficit within the next few years remains a viable possibility. The small business community has warned for years that over-taxing and over-spending at the state level would eventually create a fiscal crisis and serve as drag on the overall economy.
“The latest budget ploys being discussed seem only add to the ongoing uncertainties faced by the business in Connecticut, and unfortunately seem to simply further shift the state’s burdens onto residents and small businesses, but it does nothing to solve the broader economic issues that can no longer be ignored. Instead of further increasing the income tax, which disproportionately impacts small business owners who are taxed as pass-through entities, and allowing municipalities to arbitrarily increase property tax assessments, the legislature needs to focus on reducing spending, eliminating waste, and at the local government level, incentivizing shared services and repealing unfunded state mandates. Only then will our economic outlook have the opportunity to improve,” concluded Markowski.
