HARTFORD — State lawmakers on Monday approved a budget authorization bill, much to the chagrin of two Naugatuck legislators.
After some maneuvering of spending and taxes in the two-year, nearly $40.3 billion budget that passed on June 3. The Senate voted 19-17 to approve the bill, S.B. 1502. The House of Representatives subsequently approved it, 78-65.
In a joint statement, state representatives Rosa Rebimbas (R-70) and David Labriola (R-131) said the budget increases taxes by $1.4 billion on the middle class and property owners, and hinder job-creating businesses.
“On the heels of a $1.8 billion tax increase in 2011, the largest tax increase in state history, this budget raises taxes by another $1.4 billion on the already struggling middle class, and on job-creating businesses that are the backbone of the entire state economy,” Rebimbas said in the statement. “Instead of making the difficult choices, cutting spending and providing tax relief for families across Connecticut, the majority party once again kicked the can down the road and placed the state’s fiscal burden squarely on those who can least afford it.”
Labriola said, “I cannot support a budget that raises taxes and increases spending in such a reckless manner. This budget will cause irreparable damage to our state and will only inflict hardship upon our citizens and the state’s business community.”
The Democratic leadership and the governor’s office negotiated some spending cuts and changes to a plan to distribute a share of the state’s sales tax receipts to municipalities.
According to Rebimbas and Labriola, more than $100 million in additional revenue from sales tax increases that were intended to go to towns and cities was diverted to help pay for the tax rollbacks.
The revised tax plan scraps a proposed triple sales tax on computer and data processing to 3 percent. It will remain at 1 percent, but it will be expanded to tax the creation, development, hosting and maintenance of a website.
It also delays a change in how some companies calculate corporate income taxes until Jan. 1, 2016. The new method requires members of a corporate group to base their corporation taxes on the entire chain’s income and apportion the company’s Connecticut taxes.
The Republican-American contributed to this report.
