Rep. Hill Co-Signs Legislation Tax Relief Bill

Information via Rep. Leslee Hill

HARTFORD – State Representative Leslee Hill (R-Canton) recently co-signed a bill, H.B. 5060, seeking to eliminate the state tax on one's retirement income that has been accrued in a savings incentive match plan - individual retirement account. In 2017, bipartisan legislation was put forth to incentivize seniors who have worked in Connecticut to retire here too, by phasing out the tax assessed on retirement income that fall below a threshold of $75,000 for single filers and $100,000 for joint filers. However, many individual retirement accounts are structured differently than a standard pension plan, making it harder for individuals to qualify for the tax break on an annual basis that have non-traditional savings plans.

"At one of my recent coffee hours, a constituent actually brought this issue to light," explained Rep. Hill, who is a member of the Finance Committee. "The intent of the law passed in 2017 was to make Connecticut an attractive place to retire by providing a tax break on retirement income. Just because the money has been saved by a different mechanism outside of a simplified employee pension plan, that should not disqualify a retiree from utilizing this tax benefit."

Commentary on the bill was recently made during last week's public hearing. The bill only received testimony favoring its passage from members of the public and advocacy organizations, such as AARP.

"Connecticut's senior population continues to grow and it's critical that the legislature make policy decisions taking that fact into account," Rep. Hill went on to explain. "I am proud to support legislation that makes our community more affordable by supporting our state's seniors."

The complete income tax phase-out will not be complete until 2025. However, Rep. Hill is hopeful that this bill will strengthen the intent of the existing law. The Finance Committee has until April 2, 2020, to move this legislation along in the current session.