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A wristwatch in Connecticut is considered clothing, not jewelry, in the budget bill being debated in the Senate.
Why does it matter? By calling a watch clothing, the 7 percent luxury tax kicks in at $1,000 — not the $5,000 threshold for jewelry.
The luxury tax is applied at clothing that costs more than $1,000, jewelry above $5,000, cars above $50,000 and boats above $100,000.
The rationale in the law is that a watch is worn.
A bracelet is not?
Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.
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