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November 11, 2013 Editorial

Governor’s race must focus on CT’s tax burden

With the local election season now over, all eyes will begin to focus on the 2014 gubernatorial campaign.

Yes, it's still a year away, but there's a lot at stake in the race for state government's CEO job.

In the weeks and months ahead, Republican wannabe candidates will jockey harder for their party's nomination. Meanwhile, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will rev up his communications machine, to defend his record from the last three years.

Sharp elbows will fly.

An issue that must be top of mind to all candidates is taxes. It seems every week a new study is published decrying Connecticut's tax climate. Kiplinger is the latest to weigh in on the matter.

The business news and personal finance publisher recently ranked Connecticut as the second least tax friendly state in America. Only California fared worse.

Citing data from the Tax Foundation, Kiplinger pointed out Connecticut has the second-highest median property taxes in the U.S. after New Jersey. The median property tax on the state's median home value of $291,200 is $4,738, according to Kiplinger, which also highlighted the state's 6.35 percent sales tax and 49 cent per gallon gas tax.

The numbers and ranking aren't surprising. Still, they give businesses and residents another reason not to operate or live here.

Republicans will undoubtedly attack Malloy for his tax policies. To confront a massive $3.2 billion deficit in 2011, Malloy proposed and eventually signed into law the largest tax increase in Connecticut history. The nearly $1.5 billion tax hike — on everything from income, retail sales, corporations, and alcohol — angered the electorate and hurt Malloy's approval ratings.

Malloy has, and will likely continue to argue, that poor fiscal management by his Republican predecessors left him and his fellow Democrats in the General Assembly little choice but to increase taxes. That message is getting a little tired, and Malloy must find a way to rejuvenate it. Better still, he must make a stronger argument why his government efficiency programs will keep future tax increases to a minimum.

Republicans will argue Malloy's levy hikes have put a wet blanket over Connecticut's economic recovery. This will be a good argument to make with voters. But their message simply can't be a promise to slash taxes and government spending. That won't resonate with most Connecticut voters. Instead, Republicans will need to outline a specific plan for restructuring state government that includes details of agencies and/or services they plan to cut, reduce, or reinvent.

Those specifics are often hard to find during a campaign. Harder still is advocating — in the midst of an election — for cutting programs near and dear to voters' hearts. But this is no time for pandering. Voters are intelligent and will respect candidates willing to make hard decisions.

Connecticut will never be a low tax haven. However, policymakers must figure out a way to make the state's tax structure more competitive. Continually being ranked as one of the least tax friendly state's in the country will inhibit future economic growth by scaring investors and businesses away from the state.

That's a trend that has become all too common over the last few decades.

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