Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Despite unsolved deficit, CT must observe sales tax holiday

  • Money
  • by Kyle Constable
  • August 11, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The sales tax holiday comes as state residents get ready for back-to-school shopping.

Connecticut remains without a budget six weeks into the new fiscal year, but officials are planning to move forward with the state’s 17th-annual sales tax holiday later this month.

In fact, they have little choice. State statute mandates it be held in the third week of August every year – even without a budget in place.

So, between Aug. 20 and 26, Connecticut residents won’t have to pay sales tax on most individual clothing and footwear items priced under $100.

The Department of Revenue Services estimates the state will miss out on about $4.1 million in revenue – a small sliver of the state’s $20 billion annual budget.

Kevin B. Sullivan, commissioner of the Department of Revenue Services, argues the “economic boost more than makes up for” the lost revenue, though he concedes research is mixed on whether more business is being done during the holiday week.

“In Connecticut and other states, the sales tax holiday generally falls around back-to-school season and getting a sales tax break certainly helps,” Sullivan said. “Just as important, retailers will add promotional inducements such as discounts, so there’s a price savings plus a tax savings and the ability of consumers to upscale their purchases.”

The holiday comes as some Democratic lawmakers are pushing for a sales tax increase as a tool for bringing the still-incomplete two-year state budget into balance.

Lawmakers are grappling with a $3.5-billion, two-year deficit – down from $5.1 billion after the ratification of labor concessions package last month expected to save $1.57 billion over the next two years.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy made deep cuts to social services under an executive order that is governing the state’s finances without a budget in place, prompting outcry from advocates for the state’s neediest populations.

Millions of dollars in municipal aid also remain in jeopardy. The first round of large aid payments to the state’s cities and towns will go out at the end of September, and would be dramatically curbed under Malloy’s executive order.

Malloy has said his options for keeping the state’s finances in balance are limited without a budget in place.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kyle Constable Kyle was a general assignment reporter at the Connecticut Mirror. A former State Capitol beat writer for The Daily Campus, he graduated from UConn with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2017. He previously worked for the Mirror as a freelance reporter and, before that, was the Mirror's 2016 summer reporting fellow and an intern during the 2016 legislative session.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
A little-known technical bill could be the key to more money for core programs
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Appropriations Committee leaders have a new strategy to more pump state dollars into education, social services and health care.

Auditors: UConn Hartford campus construction cost $30M more than budgeted
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Construction and renovations combined originally were priced at $87 million. Final cost: $116.7 million.

CT to start collecting family-leave tax from its workers next week
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state will begin deducting the new tax to support family and medical leave benefits from non-union employees this month.

CT continues to get high marks for improved fiscal management
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut received high marks from a nationally recognized think-tank for its huge reserves, its fiscal planning and its budget transparency.

Connecticut businesses could owe up to $1 billion in unemployment taxes. They want the state to cover it with federal relief funds.
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Business leaders said the state’s economy simply can’t recover if companies remain on the hook to cover the debt.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion College students in Connecticut should be vaccinated now
by Dayna Vadala

If the state of Connecticut wants its institutions of higher learning to return to normal in the fall, it’s going to have to get shots into the arms of the students.

Opinion Connecticut, be a International leader against hair discrimination among children
by Faith D. Crittenden, Jade A. Anderson, MD, and Whitney L. Stuard

On March 1, 2020, Connecticut became the eighth state to pass the Crown Act, a national legislative movement that recognizes natural hair and cultural headwear discrimination as a form of racial discrimination in the workplace. While we are  in strong support and advocate for this law, it is important to recognize the limitations of the Crown Act and how it can be improved upon in future policy.

Opinion Three lessons for schools across America from Secretary Cardona’s hometown
by Mark Benigni

Over the past decade, Meriden Public Schools -- where U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona served as assistant superintendent -- has become a unique laboratory for new ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible in public education. And many of those ideas have paid off.

Opinion A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO