A new analysis from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows Connecticut’s tax receipts have rebounded faster than those in most other states since the last recession.
taxes
Posted inNews
Hayes, Santos debate highlights sharply different philosophies and approaches
Democrat Jahana Hayes doubled down on the importance of education, while her Republican rival Manny Santos burnished his conservative credentials at a debate before an audience of college students Wednesday night.
Posted inPolitics
Larson continues push Social Security reform — and says Trump would back him
WASHINGTON– For years, Rep. John Larson has been traveling the country to promote a plan to stabilize Social Security and boost benefits for the poorest Americans. While the plan has failed to move forward, Larson says he now has a powerful new ally — Donald Trump.
Posted inMoney
Trump names Kudlow to top White House economic job
Television economic commentator Larry Kudlow, who lives in Redding, said he had just finished playing tennis Sunday when he received a phone call from President Donald Trump, the first of a number of 30- or 40-minute calls that led to Kudlow’s appointment as Trump’s chief economics adviser.
Posted inPolitics
CT lobbies Washington on taxes, riverboats and radio towers
WASHINGTON — While President Donald Trump promised to “drain the swamp,” the lobbying business is thriving, with Connecticut-based companies, non-profits, cities and universities spending a total of about $50 million to influence Congress and the new administration last year.
Posted inPolitics
Senate approves sweeping tax overhaul despite CT Dem opposition
WASHINGTON — The Senate early Saturday passed a sweeping overhaul of the federal tax code that would end the deductibility of state income taxes and eliminate other popular tax breaks while lowering tax rates for individuals and corporations.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal, Murphy split over Sanders’ ‘Medicare for All’ plan
Blumenthal was one of nine Democrats with Sanders, I-Vt., when he introduced his “Medicare for All” bill at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. Murphy said he prefers a plan where Americans have a choice between private insurance and a government-run plan.
Posted inPolitics
700,000 CT taxpayers claim a deduction that’s at risk in D.C.
Among the proposals being considered in Washington for reforming the federal tax code is one that would eliminate the deduction that Connecticut taxpayers rely on most — the one for state and local taxes.
Posted inHealth, Politics
McConnell tweaks health care bill to win conservative support
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell rolled out a new health care bill that is broadly similar to the one that foundered in the Senate last month, but contains a few new provisions aimed at winning over recalcitrant Republican senators. The new bill was excoriated by Connecticut Democrats, and increased Democratic opposition to the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Posted inPolitics
Obamacare repeal would roll back dozens of federal taxes
WASHINGTON — The Senate health care bill, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act, would roll back nearly $1 trillion in diverse taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act to expand coverage to poor and middle-income individuals. But analysts say 40 percent of the tax breaks would benefit 1 percent of the nation’s richest people, giving critics ammunition against GOP efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Posted inHealth, Politics
CT Dems decry House GOP victory on health bill that may stumble in Senate
WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday finally won approval for a health care bill aimed at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, but the legislation faces an uncertain future in the Senate, which may not be able to take it up for weeks. Connecticut Democrats called the health care bill “appalling” and “immoral” and said the GOP would pay a political price.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Insurers quietly assessing GOP health plan’s benefits and pitfalls
WASHINGTON — The nation’s health insurers are weighing the GOP’s newly released bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, which contains things they wanted – and some things they may not like, but for now keeping their opinions to themselves. “If they are smart, they are going to remain silent and let the legislation take its course,” said Rep. John Larson, D-1st District.
Posted inMoney
One study finds Connecticut a fine place to do business
A new study issued this month by the Council on State Taxation concludes Connecticut actually is tied for the most favorable business climate — if one considers not just the cost of doing business, but the potential for earning big profits here. But it warns against interpreting that to mean that Connecticut is a low-tax environment overall.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics, Transportation
Walker: ‘Devastating’ cuts cannot solve CT’s budget woes
As analysts outlined a grim picture Wednesday that could include further cuts to state social services and reversing recent enhancements in local aid and transportation, one key lawmaker insisted officials must discuss raising revenue in 2017.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers returning to D.C. with Dem Party in disarray
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s members of the U.S. House, all Democrats who were re-elected by healthy margins in a bad year for their party, will return to work next week amid a new political reality and with a Democratic Party in disarray.