With Connecticut’s new fiscal year set to begin Friday, serious issues — involving both spending and revenue — have arisen in recent weeks that challenge state government’s new spending plan before it’s even begun. And a major Wall Street credit rating agency questioned Monday whether Connecticut’s fiscal house is in order.
state income tax
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Outgoing CT budget deficit swells, hints at more red ink to come
Eroding state income tax receipts identified Monday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration not only widened the deficit in the outgoing fiscal year, but threatened to punch a hole in the new state budget 12 days before it begins.
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CT counts on future legal settlements to mitigate eroding income tax receipts
Despite rapidly eroding state income tax receipts, analysts for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration and the legislature are counting on payments from future legal settlements and other sources to mitigate much of the likely tax revenue loss next fiscal year.
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Lembo warns CT’s budget may not remain balanced for long
State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo confirmed Friday that Connecticut’s finances are back in balance — for now. But the state’s chief fiscal watchdog reminded officials that Connecticut is due to test its revenues again shortly after the April 18 income tax filing deadline, and that the potential for more red ink remains very real.
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Lembo reports $220M deficit, confirms eroding tax receipts
State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo certified a $220 million deficit Tuesday for the current fiscal year, a report that largely echoes last week’s warning from the legislature’s nonpartisan analysts about eroding state income tax receipts.
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Malloy warns of workforce cuts, affirms opposition to tax hikes
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration confirmed Friday the downward trend in state revenues — though not the precise numbers — that nonpartisan analysts reported earlier this week. While the governor never used the word “layoff,” he told reporters Friday that state government’s workforce must shrink considerably soon, and that the next state budget still must be balanced without tax hikes.
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CT finances take another big hit as projected revenues plunge
Connecticut’s finances were dealt a major blow Thursday when nonpartisan analysts downgraded projected income tax receipts by hundreds of millions of dollars for this fiscal year and next.
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Malloy, legislators optimistic after first budget session
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative leaders hailed the first round of budget talks as a cordial first step toward a bipartisan solution, even if they have yet to agree on the scope of the state’s budget shortfall.
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Lembo says Wall Street, other factors, could strain budget
Though the new state budget is just two months old, Connecticut’s chief fiscal watchdog already is warning about several problems that could push state finances into the red.
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Panel will consider plan to boost CT income taxes on the wealthy
The legislature’s tax-writing panel Wednesday will consider recommending an increase in income taxes on Connecticut’s wealthiest households, retroactive to Jan. 1, to help close the large deficit in the next budget, according to sources. The Democrat-controlled Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee also will consider significantly extending the sales tax to new goods and services as part of a plan to overhaul non-education municipal aid and limit local car taxes.
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Sales tax may take center stage in state budget debate
Leaders of the legislature’s tax-writing panel have made it no secret they hope to minimize new taxes on Connecticut corporations this year as politicians and business leaders alike hope for the economy’s best year since the Great Recession ended. But one key alternative the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee is expected to recommend this week involves a major overhaul of Connecticut’s sales tax – a move the state’s chief business lobby warns could damage the economy worse if handled improperly.
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5 Things you need to know about the Connecticut income tax
In less than two weeks, close to $2 billion worth of income tax payments will begin pouring into the state’s coffers. This fiscal year the income tax will provide the resources to cover 53 percent of general fund spending.
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Expert has idea that could lessen federal taxes for CT taxpayers
Connecticut’s low- and middle-income households could pay tens of millions of dollars less in federal taxes each year while state officials simultaneously gain access to a wealth of new economic data. But for that to happen, according to one of the state’s leading economists, Connecticut officials first take a fiscal leap of faith – and repeal arguably the state’s most popular tax break.
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Malloy urges a 2nd tax cut, this time for those with student debt
For the second day in a row, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed new tax cuts – this time for households with student loan debt.
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McKinney-Walker promise income tax cut in new commercials
With just two weeks left before the Republican primary, gubernatorial contender John P. McKinney unveiled new ads Tuesday that promise a middle-class income tax cut as the centerpiece of a new state budget-balancing plan.