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Friday Facts – April 23rd

by | Apr 23, 2021 | friday_facts

Digital ad tax included in Finance Committee tax package
CRMA Disappointed but will continue to oppose
Capitol news and notes
News and notes from around the state
CRMA Golf outing
Remember to like us on Facebook 

  • Yesterday the Legislature’s Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee finished its work for the year, but not before passing a tax package that included a controversial new gross revenue tax on advertisements that take place on digital platforms.
  • The Finance Committee had a 5:00pm deadline yesterday to finish their work for the year. They were also the last committee of the General Assembly to finish for this legislative session.
  • In addition to the digital ad tax, the Finance Committee approved several other revenue raisers. Among them were:
    1. Make permanent the 10% corporate surcharge that was set to expire in 2020
    2. Allow restaurants, hotels, and bars to keep 1% of sales tax collected for 1 year.
    3. Exempt breastfeeding supplies from sales and use tax.
    4. Beginning January 1, 2023 impose a Highway Use Tax on trucks (vehicles with trailers and gross weight over 26,000 pounds) on roads in CT. The tax is imposed as a per mile rate that ranges from $0.025 to $0175 depending on gross weight.
    5. Impose a new “consumption tax” on residents with AGI from $500,000 and up.
  • You can go here to see the full Finance Committee agenda and the fiscal notes that accompany each bill.
  • You can go here (CTNewsJunkie) and here (Hartford Courant) for more details stories on the Finance Committee’s actions.

CRMA Disappointed in Finance Committee action on digital ad tax

  • We are extremely disappointed that the Finance Committee included the digital ad tax as part of the tax package. The tax will only boomerang back onto retailers who advertise in the form of higher ad rates.
  • And CT simply does NOT NEED THE REVENUE. For the first time in years, CT’s budget situation is stable. We have a surplus for this fiscal year, our Rainy Day fund is reaching capacity, our long term debt is being paid down, and we have been given higher marks from the Bond Rating agencies.
  • You can read our statement that we put out after the committee vote yesterday by going here.
  • Hartford Business Journal has an update on our comments as well as comments from our friends from CBIA. You can go here to read that.
  • Governor Lamont is on our side by opposing all the taxes included in the tax package. You can go here to read more on his remarks.
  • We do want to thank those legislators who voted NO on this package. First, we want to thank the entire Republican membership on the committee, and we would encourage you to thank them yourself. You can see the Republican members of Finance by going here.
  • We also want to thank the four House D’s who voted no. Representative Kerry Wood (D-Rocky Hill), Rep. Jill Barry (D-Glastonbury), Rep. Tom Meskers (D-Greenwich) and Rep. Chris Perone (D-Norwalk).
  • While the budget and tax package have now been reported out of their respective Committees, it does not mean there won’t be ongoing talks between the House and Senate and the Governor’s office before the budget and tax package is voted on.
  • In fact, given that the Governor opposes all the tax increases, conversation between the leaders are really just beginning. So, we will keep up our work in opposing the digital ad tax and hope you will continue to help us achieve that objective.
  • Finally, we do want to thank our members who took time to meet with legislators prior to the vote. We know taking time out of your schedule to do that is not easy, but we would not have earned the three Democratic votes we received, without members talking with them.
  • We are going to keep up our efforts and we hope we can count of you. YOUR participation will be critical to stopping this tax from going into effect.

 

Capitol News and Notes

  • With the committee process now finally behind us, and no public hearings or testimony ahead, we now experience the real challenging part of a virtual session. Specifically, how much work can get done.
  • The House is in session on Monday, so we will get a glimpse of what they are up to.
  • The Senate is scheduled to be in two days next week, Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Reminder that adjournment day for the General Assembly is Wednesday June 9th.

 

News and Notes Around Connecticut

  • Connecticut authorities are warning utility customers to be on the lookout for scammers posing as representatives for various utility companies and demanding payment through pre-paid gift cards. CT Post has the details here.
  • Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public venture capital arm, has relocated from Rocky Hill to New Haven, which is aimed at better promoting Connecticut to potential investors. New Haven BIZ has the story here.
  • Lamont has proposed spending $103 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds on job training and other workforce development efforts. Hartford Business Journal reports on the plans here.
  • Bills to revise the state’s municipal property tax, including a repeal of the motor vehicles tax, face an uncertain future. Hartford Business Journal has the latest here.
  • Connecticut plans to lift all restrictions, with the exception of mask-wearing, in May. Hartford Courant outlines the plans, announced this week, for a two-step lifting of restrictions on May 1 and May 19.
  • With about 60% of eligible residents vaccinated, Gov. Lamont says the supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses has begun to surpass demand in Connecticut. CTNewsJunkie reports the latest here.

 

Register today for CRMA Annual Golf Outing

  • With spring now here, finally, we know that means our Annual Golf Outing will soon be here.
  • This year the event will be held June 29, 2021 at Wampanoag CC in West Hartford, CT.
  • Registration for the Outing is open NOW. You can register by going here.

 

Remember to LIKE CRMA on Facebook

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