CT governor says there’ll be a tax cut, balanced budget. GOP says it’s not enough

Hartford Courant – Tuesday, February 18, 2024
By Christopher Keating

Gov. Ned Lamont touted his tax-cut plan Tuesday, but said he is willing to compromise with the state legislature if necessary.

Lamont is pushing hard to increase the maximum property tax credit on the state income tax to $350, up from the current $300 per tax filer. That would provide a combined total of $85 million in tax relief in each of the next two years.

The maximum credit would be available for couples earning up to $100,000 per year, an expansion over the current level of $70,000 per year. The cut would help 800,000 tax filers in the state, and 90% of the benefits would go to filers earning $125,000 or less.

“The property tax credit has been up and down just like a yo-yo,” Lamont told reporters at Newington town hall. “It was up higher and then almost went down to zero. The legislature stepped in and made it $200. Now, this will take it up to $350, which makes a difference. … It starts with another $50 in your pocket, hopefully by the end of this session.”

But one of the issues in the debate is that House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford — a key budget negotiator — has called for making highly visible tax relief that could come in the form of direct payments. He said recently that consumers do not notice that they received the property tax credit from the state government because their accountant simply filled in a box on the state income tax form. As such, Ritter has not immediately embraced Lamont’s idea.

“Is it the property tax credit or some other credit? I don’t know,” Ritter said recently. “We’ll look at it. I don’t know how targeted it is. We’ll see.”

Asked about Ritter’s stance, Lamont said that he would work with the legislature as elected officials try to get credit for tax cuts.

“They love to send a check out,” Lamont told reporters. “I’ve got every single constitutional [officer] wants to sign that check. It’s part of the politics of this.”

Standing next to Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz interrupted and said, “I’ll sign it, too.”

“And the lieutenant governor as well,” Lamont responded.

Regarding his flexibility on tax cuts, Lamont said, “It can be a variety of different ways. The numbers have to add up. It’s got to be an honestly balanced budget.”

While the maximum tax credit of $350 would be available for families earning up to $100,000 per year, partial, reduced credits would be available to single individuals earning up to $130,000 and couples earning up to $160,000 per year. Above those levels, no credit would be available.

If the credit were enacted, taxpayers would save a combined $1.58 million in Hartford, $1.51 million in West Hartford, $1.24 million in Enfield, and $1.15 million in East Hartford, according to Lamont’s statistics.

Republicans have ripped the idea, saying that a credit of $50 would not have much impact on a family of four that is trying to pay the bills.

“The bottom line is there is nothing here for the taxpayers,” House Republican leader Vincent Candelora said when the idea was unveiled. “There’s nothing here to fix energy costs, to fix public safety.”

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