Connecticut mayors say if Governor Dan Malloy’s proposal to eliminate car taxes goes through we’ll all be spinning our wheels financially. How are we gonna make up the revenue loss? Malloy fires back in a letter to municipal leaders. From Malloy:
In a letter to town leaders, Governor Malloy today reaffirmed his commitment to providing middleclass tax relief to Connecticut’s working families. In addition to investing in job creation and education, the Governor’s proposal would eliminate the car tax for vehicles valued below $28,000 and reinstate the sales tax exemption on clothing under $50.
In the letter, the Governor writes:
“My budget is focused on the following priorities: growing jobs, investing in education, and finding ways to provide tangible relief to our middle class, including relieving them of the most hated and unfair tax in Connecticut–the car tax–and by reinstating the sales tax exemption for some clothing.
“My plan also sends at least the same amount of state dollars to cities and towns as they currently receive. It’s true that aid comes in different ways, which will necessitate adjustments on your end. But at a time when states across the country are decimating local aid, no city or town in Connecticut will receive less total funding from the state than it did last year, and many will receive more.
“To do all that without raising taxes, my plan also contains more than $1.8 billion in savings from the state’s current services. That’s $1.8 billion worth of tough decisions about how Connecticut serves its residents.
“This is a tough budget, built for tough times. Connecticut is making hard decisions and setting priorities in order to live within its means. I understand that cities and towns will need to make their own hard decisions. We’re all public servants, but we’re also citizens and taxpayers; we can hopefully agree that all levels of government must change with the times, find savings, and operate efficiently.”
The Governor’s proposal to eliminate the car tax gives towns and cities the option of implementing the proposal on July 1, 2013. Statewide implementation will begin on July 1, 2014. Both private and commercial vehicle will be covered by the exemption. In addition to lowering costs for state residents, the proposal will also lower costs to municipalities, who will no longer be responsible for collecting the tax.
The exemption on sales tax for clothing will cover items under $25 beginning July 1, 2014, with a full restoration of the $50 exemption by 2015.
Back when Malloy took office with an inherited deficit Gov. Christie of New Jersey said Malloy’s approach to the deficit was wrong and would not work, well he was Right. Now this guy is trying to screw the middle class again. Where does he think we are going to get the money to pay the increase in property tax? The only good thing about this is Malloy will be a one-termer.
I don’t get this comment. NJ finances are also a mess.
Bridgeport Rising: That is not true, NJ has a balanced budget and reduced state employees and instituted other measures all of which Malloy ignored. Instead he kissed up to the unions and no real changes in the state system were made.
Who told you that? They are $700 million negative.
newjerseyhills.com/bernardsville_news/news/state-budget-cuts-loom-as-shortfall-tops-million/article_bd620e1a-5682-11e2-830f-0019bb2963f4.html
I don’t understand either … I thought the vehicle tax was collected by the city and remitted to the state. How would this negatively affect the city income levels?
It isn’t paid to the state, it is treated the same as other property taxes.
The car tax information comes from the state but is taxed locally at the same mil rate as business property and real estate–so a Honda is a Honda is a Honda but the tax is different by town/city.
At one point there was a proposal to tax all vehicles at the state level at a unified mil rate.
But the entire property tax system is broken–higher property taxes depress real estate values–so identical cape cods in Bridgeport and Fairfield pay different taxes and have different FMV somewhat based upon the tax burden.
*** Either way there will be some type of tax increase, city and state; it’s unavoidable! Also what are Bpt’s eight legislators in Hartford doing concerning their support or non-support over Malloy’s proposals and budget, Hennessy’s bill or gun issues? They do their own thing quietly for personal reasons and don’t seem to support each other towards a team goal. Yet they keep on being renominated for the same old seat to do the same old “questionable” job! *** GOD HELP US! ***
It IS an unfair tax. In towns like Greenwich or Shelton with low mil rates, you pay much less than Bpt or New Haven for the exact same model car. But there’s no fix-all. They will just raise ANOTHER TAX to replace this one.
Malloy’s proposal is about as fair to local property taxpayers, especially in the cities, as a Ponzi scheme.
The Malloy car tax proposal is only one of several proposals included his budget, which are evidence the Governor thinks he can take the urban Democratic vote for granted. It will be interesting to see if Democratic mayors and legislators push back or roll over and go along.
What will Bridgeport’s legislators do?