The state’s chief business lobby, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, took to the airwaves Monday to press for bold spending reforms to mitigate growing state budget deficits.
Connecticut Business and Industry Association
Posted inMoney, Politics
Connecticut economy, the facilitator will see you now
It was inevitable. Suzanne Bates of the Yankee Institute, a conservative think tank critical of public-employee benefits, found herself at a table next to Daniel J. Livingston, the lawyer who negotiates those benefits for state employee unions. The unlikely table mates were emblematic of an experiment staged Friday to find a new approach to economic policy in Connecticut.
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Cutting business taxes in the discussion on state budget
According to several sources close to the bipartisan talks that begin today, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration will suggest a modest business tax cut to improve Connecticut’s economic climate.
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Business, labor, town leaders summit to address CT’s economy, fiscal woes
Leading advocates for Connecticut’s businesses, workers and municipal governments will gather next month in Westbrook to tackle the challenges facing the state economy and state government finances.
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Feds say CT cities had little economic growth in 2014
WASHINGTON – How healthy is the state’s economy? It’s a tale of two Connecticuts, and the subject of widely different viewpoints. But a recent federal report shows Connecticut’s big cities lag most others in the nation when it comes to economic growth.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CBIA paddling against the current on climate change
The fall meeting of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s Energy and Environment Council features a keynote address by Yale professor and former DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty, sharing “his insider’s perspective on where climate policy is headed.” The event will also include a tour of Wallingford-based Proton Onsite, a global leader in gas generation and renewable energy storage. So why does the promotional description of the event in CBIA’s recent newsletter call for a reconsideration of Connecticut’s existing commitments to climate protection?
Posted inMoney
On business, Connecticut craves climate change
The annual business survey by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association was released Friday as the new state Commission on Economic Competitiveness begins assessing a business climate regularly described as dismal in national ratings. “The challenge for us is why,” said Joseph McGee, co-chairman of the commission.
Posted inMoney
CT unemployment hits seven-year low of 5.4%
Connecticut gained 4,100 jobs in July as the unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low of 5.4 percent, marking three consecutive months of job growth that have brought the state’s unemployment rate close to the U.S. average of 5.3 percent.
Posted inMoney
CT unemployment rate hits lowest mark since July 2008
Connecticut’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in June, its lowest point since July 2008, as the state added 600 jobs last month – including 2,600 in the private sector that offset losses in government employment, the state Department of Labor reported Monday.
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A nonprofit and an accountant join anti-tax chorus
The Connecticut Business and Industry Association brought a new voice Monday to its campaign to roll back state tax hikes — a major Hartford-based job development nonprofit. During a rally mid-day rally outside of the Capitol, the CBIA also tried to undercut one of its opposition’s chief arguments: that Connecticut businesses are profitable enough to afford more taxes.
Posted inMoney
The tricky business of measuring business climate
Forbes ranks Connecticut 36th among the states as a place to do business. Others peg it as low as 47th. On the plus side, Bloomberg places it fourth on its list of innovative states. And Connecticut ties for second-lowest business tax burden measured against productivity. Does it matter?
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Malloy seeks to roll back $220M in business tax hikes
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed Friday to roll back about $220 million in business tax hikes before they take effect in the new two-year state budget July 1 and replace them with still-to-be-identified spending cuts. Legislative leaders offered no ready endorsement, saying they will review the plan.
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On these ‘major victories,’ Malloy celebrates alone
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy forced legislators to yield to his every key tax demand in budget negotiations last week, including setting aside a portion of the sales tax for the long-term transportation improvements that could be the governor’s legacy. Now comes the harder task: Convincing the rest of Connecticut to accept his priorities and ignore the outcry over higher taxes on business.
Posted inMoney
Business leaders warn ‘unitary reporting’ could stymie job growth
Connecticut business leaders warned Thursday that a controversial corporation tax change under consideration for the next state budget could have a profound and immediate impact on the state’s job market.
Posted inPolitics
House backs pay equity measure sought by Malloy
Employers would be barred from disciplining employees who voluntarily share information about their pay under legislation passed early Wednesday by the House and sent to the Senate.