Governor’s Trial Balloon on Food Taxes Crashes
Big Issues not ready Just Yet
Lamont Announces Big Appointment
Retail News and Notes
- Governor Lamont made his opening move in the upcoming budget debate as he is preparing to offer his first two year budget to the General Assembly.
- Facing a large budget deficit the Governor’s folks offered up the possibility that he would propose extending the sales tax to food items.
- CT currently exempts food from sales tax, but faced with the prospect of closing a $1.5 billion budget deficit over the next two years, the Governor’s folks are looking at all possible options.
- Placing a 2 percent sales tax on groceries, not the full 6.35% would generate up to $2.7 billion annually.
- If the Governor was floating a trial balloon, it crashed right away. Thanks to opposition from both parties.
- The Republican leader Themis Klarides said eliminating the sales tax exemption on groceries was “nonstarter” for her caucus.
- Meanwhile, many progressive supporters of Governor Lamont have also weighed in urging the Governor to drop the idea. Neil Vigdor or the Hartford Courant has that story.
- Our friend Chris Powell at the Journal Inquirer thinks the food tax trail balloon is a way for the Governor to soften residents up for other tax increases that could be coming. You can go here to read more.
- The Governor will present his budget to the General Assembly on Feb. 20th.
Big Issues not ready Just Yet
- One of the challenges in a long session is shifting thru all the bills that are introduced by members and sent to various Committees and determining which ones will make it thru the grind of the session.
- That is an ongoing process and will continue throughout the next couple of months.
- With that in mind, and we do know that there will be some action taken on a number of issues that we have identified in previous Friday Facts.
- Increasing the mini wage, implementing a paid family medical leave act, putting tolls back on CT highways and making recreational marijuana legal, are the big 4 issues that have gotten the attention of lawmakers early this session.
- But no real movement has taken place on those issues – YET. We expect that with respect the mini wage and paid family leave, that things will get ramped up real soon. But the other two, tolls and marijuana, may take longer into the session to be acted on.
Lamont Announces Big Appointment
- As we mentioned in last week’s FF, one of the appointments that Governor Lamont had yet to make was that of Commissioner of Economic Development.
- DECD is really the business recruitment arm of State Government and then candidate Lamont promised that he would shake up that Department to do a better job of retaining business in the State and recruiting more business to move here.
- This morning Governor Lamont will present his new plan for economic development by announcing that three high profile business leaders will go to work for his administration.
- Dan Haar from the CT Post has more details.
- His vision with this announcement is that not only will the State be in a better place to recruit business but the will also be better positioned to service the needs of business overall.
- We wish him and his new appointments well. Nobody needs a stronger CT economy that retailers.
Retail News and Notes
- Avon turns to digital strategies to win over millennials
- Avon sees delivery services as part of a growing plan to court millennials. The beauty brand has teamed with third-party player Rappi on a two-hour delivery experiment in Brazil, as part of a plan to invest $300 million in digital projects over the next few years.
- Glossy (tiered subscription model) (25 Jan.)
- NRF CEO Matthew Shay on how tariffs impact retail
- Tariffs, Twitter tantrums and trade were hot topics among retail leaders who attended NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show. NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay and retail influencer Stacey Widlitz shared their insights with host Matt Rubel on the first episode of “Retales from the Frontline,” a new podcast from the Retail Influencer Network. Listen.