Says Budget
Fails to Make Substantial Cuts, Imposes Unaffordable
Tax Increases
Hartford, CT – State Senator
Len Fasano (R-North Haven) is calling the Democrats’
budget proposal and associated tax increases “a
disingenuous and ineffective effort to balance the state’s
budget.” The proposal, which passed the Appropriations
and Finance committees last week, would raise income,
business and sales taxes by more than $3 billion.
“The reality is this budget was put together
behind closed doors by a select few political insiders
without any sort of input from Republicans or the
people who will suffer from these tax increases,”
said Senator Fasano. “And looking through
the details of their proposal today, it’s no wonder
the Majority Democrats didn’t want any input.
Their budget levies $3.3 billion dollars in new taxes
during one of the most severe economic downturns we’ve
seen. These new tax increases will no doubt place an
impossible burden on Connecticut residents already struggling
to make ends meet.”
The Democrat budget proposal creates an automatic tax
increase on the middle-class by phasing out the property
tax credit for middle-class taxpayers and by repealing
a number of sales tax exemptions including those for
child car seats, bicycle helmets and college textbooks.
The proposal also calls for substantial borrowing to
close the projected shortfalls.
“This budget is the exact opposite of what we
should be doing,” said Senator Fasano.
“The Democrats have said ‘No’ to real
cuts, ‘No’ to legislative pay reductions,
‘No’ to agency consolidation, and ‘No’
to streamlining state government through an early retirement
incentive program (ERIP). Instead, they have taken the
easy way out, raising taxes and borrowing money. They
have chosen to balance the budget on the backs of Connecticut’s
hardworking taxpayers, their children and grandchildren.
It’s just plain wrong.”
Senator Fasano also noted that the spending plan put
forth by the Democrats does not responsibly deal with
the current Fiscal Year 09 (FY09) budget deficit which
the state Comptroller put at more than $1 billion dollars.
“How on earth can we responsibly deal with the
more than $8 billion dollar deficit we face over the
next two years when we haven’t even begun to deal
with this year’s deficit?,” said
Senator Fasano. “For months we have been
calling for an open and bipartisan dialogue on our state
budget and Republicans have put forth a number of solutions
to this economic crisis. Majority Democrats refused
to work with us. I hope that going forward we are able
to work in an open and collaborative manner and resolve
our state’s fiscal problems together.”
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