Taxes

Taxes in Connecticut are too high and they seem to only get higher. Connecticut has the highest total tax burden of any state in the nation per capita and as a percentage of income. Everyone in Connecticut - individuals and businesses alike - feels the impact of rising taxes. And this is after we have taken in the casino money and the lottery money. Our citizens feel that pain as local property taxes increase almost annually, and businesses face a growing tax burden that limits their ability to grow and create more jobs. Connecticut has the sixth highest cost of doing business in the nation. As a result, Connecticut has experienced one of the lowest rates of new business start ups in the country. Under Governor Rell, we are starting to see some recent progress, but our economy remains fragile. While we need taxes to pay for essential services and infrastructure, excessive taxation hurts our families, hurts our businesses, and endangers our future. As businesses struggle to compete due to increased costs, they stop creating new jobs and they often have to cut jobs. In the end, it is the people who are hit the hardest by spiraling taxes.

The root cause of high taxes is high spending. As spending increases at rates that cannot be sustained by a growing economy, the inevitable result is higher taxes. Spending has been out of control in Connecticut. Connecticut state government spending has more than doubled in the last fifteen years.

The answer to our tax problem is to control spending and those factors that increase the cost of government at the state and local level. Only then will we be able to hold the line on taxes and cut them where possible. We must control the growth in state spending and cut spending where it makes sense to do so. The state must also resist the impulse to impose costly mandates - especially unfunded mandates - on local governments. Although well-intentioned, these mandates increase the cost of local government and result in higher property taxes for us and our families.

We must hold the line on taxes and work towards real long term tax relief if Connecticut is to remain strong and prosperous. Doing so will be one of my top priorities as your State Senator.

More to come during the campaign.

1. State Rankings 2006: A Statistical View of the 50 States, pp. 100-101 (Morgan Quitno Press 2006).

2. Connecticut Business and Industry Association.

3. State Rankings 2006, p. 106.

4. Connecticut Business and Industry Association.