Bob Duff

Senate Majority Leader

Bob Duff

Standing Up For You!

April 27, 2017

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

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