Fact Check: Republican Budget Raises Taxes $144 Million in First Year
Statements from Senate Democratic Leadership on the Republican Budget
Senate Democratic leadership today released the following statements concerning the Republican budget:
“At first glance, the Republican budget appears ostensibly responsible; however, a closer examination proves that not to be the case,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven). “The Republicans spent months apparently engaged in the Appropriations subcommittee process, all along giving us hopes of a bipartisan agreement they never intended to realize. It is duplicitous. It’s time to go to the negotiating table and get to work.”
“The Republicans crafted this half-baked budget in secret and without any transparency or public hearings,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “Buyers beware. The Republican budget raises lots of taxes, despite their rhetoric. Car taxes and property taxes will significantly increase for the middle class. In a sentence, ‘You can’t eat cake and lose weight’ and this is what their proposal wants people to believe.”
Republican Budget Facts
Raises Taxes
- The Republican budget raises taxes $144 million in just one year by:
- Raising taxes $55 million on Connecticut homeowners
- The Republican tax plan eliminates the $200 property tax credit for those who are not elderly or do not have dependents
- Raising taxes $25 million on the working poor
- The Republican tax plan cuts the Earned Income Tax Credit to 25 percent of the Federal EITC
- Raising taxes $64 million on car drivers
- The Republican tax plan ends the Democratic initiative to cut car taxes for residents in towns with a mill rate higher than 37
- These tax increases will come right out of the pockets of Connecticut families. These are direct tax increases on the people of our state.
Cuts Funding to Towns and Cities
- The Republican budget cuts $340 million in funding to municipalities in first year
- Eliminates the Municipal Revenue Sharing Account (MRSA) and takes the full 0.5 percent of the sales tax and adds it to the General Fund
Cuts Funding to Transportation
- The Republican budget cuts $340 million in funding to the Special Transportation Fund (STF) in first year
- Transfers 0.5 percent of the sales tax from STF and adds it to the General Fund
- Violates the Transportation Lockbox they seek to create
- Sweeps sales tax from STF
Secretive, Partisan Budget
- The Republican budget was written behind closed doors without any input from Democrats.
- While Democrats were working with Republicans in public crafting a bi-partisan budget, Republicans were drafting their own secret tax increase on homeowners, car drivers and the working poor.
Ends Open and Clean Elections
- The Republican budget eliminates public financing for the Citizens Election Program
