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If a budget proposal that includes a 15 percent hike in the surcharge on corporate profits being pushed by liberal state legislators is adopted by the Connecticut General Assembly, it will lead to more business closings and job losses and aggravate and prolong the recession, several state lawmakers said today after touring the Noujaim Tool Co. in Waterbury.
Visiting the company were House Republican Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-142nd District, Deputy House Republican Leader William A. Hamzy, R-78th District, state Representative Selim Noujaim, R-74th District, and state Senator Rob Kane, R-32nd District, who also discussed problems facing employers during the current recession and the probable effects of proposed business tax increases on jobs and Connecticut’s economy.
“Businesses large and small are operating on razor thin margins already in this recession - and we have lost nearly 70,000 jobs in Connecticut. We hear it every day from employers that any additional burdens – higher taxes, more mandates or regulations – will cost us jobs,’’ Cafero said. “There is a direct correlation.’’
“Because of aggressive marketing of our products, hard-working employees dedicated to excellence, and painful cost-cutting measures, we have managed to stay ahead of our competitors in an increasingly tight market here in Connecticut and elsewhere in the Northeast,” said Representative Noujaim, the executive vice-president of the family-founded and operated firm. “We are doing everything we can to ensure our company weathers the hard times and emerges from the recession stronger than ever. We are committed to Waterbury and to Connecticut, but to a considerable extent, our ability to do so depends on the state legislature not adopting tax and regulatory measures that will make it more difficult for us to succeed in an economy that is not expected to bounce back for at least another year.”
“Although Connecticut’s recession is closely related to the hard times that are gripping the nation, decades of reckless spending on an array of state government programs and the taxes that have been put in place to pay for them are clearly making it much more difficult for our economy to recover and restore the jobs that were lost over the past year and a half. Increasing the tax burden on employers large and small will make a bad economy worse, leading to more business closings and the permanent loss of thousands more jobs,” Representative Hamzy said.
“As a small business owner, I know first-hand the financial pressures businesses are under every day and the hard work it takes to make a profit. If we go forward with this tax increase, I have no doubt that we will begin to see more businesses shut their doors and move out of state. We need more jobs and more industry if we are ever going to see true economic recovery, but these tax increases discourage businesses from growing. Government needs to focus on making true spending cuts and finding ways to grow our economy and create jobs, not raising taxes on our business community,” said Senator Kane
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