Lawmakers, Business Owners Met To Talk Taxes, Tolls, Fees

EAST HAVEN, CT — State Sen. Len Fasano and state representatives Joe Zullo and Vincent Candelora met this week with local business owners and professionals over coffee to talk about legislation passed during the 2019 session.

The East Haven Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the business coffee hour at Twin Pines Diner with the Republican lawmakers. Zullo said the event was"a wonderful opportunity to discuss new laws passed this session that will have an impact on business owners."

Zullo said that he voted against a number of bills he found "anti-business."

"We need to be doing more to create jobs and grow our economy and I am a firm believer that becoming more business-friendly, especially to our state's small businesses, will help grow jobs and make our state more prosperous and secure," Zullo said. "Connecticut must do more to support the state’s job creators and find solutions to lead this state in direction that that gives everyone access to opportunities and the chance to succeed.”

Zullo said business owners who attended "expressed their concerns about tolls, the new payroll tax, and the increase in business filing fees."

During the 2019 legislative session, the majority party passed legislation that will have a significant impact on small and large employers including:

- A half-percent payroll tax to fund paid family leave;

- A Digital Download Tax

- A tax on Plastic Bags

- Increased Business Filing Fees

Zullo said, “Connecticut’s economic recovery is long overdue, and a big part of that story is the legislature’s poor record of supporting our state’s business community. Events such as this are critical to changing that trend—they provide an opportunity for Joe, Len and I to not only explain what’s happening in Hartford, but also collect concerns and ideas from people who feel the effects of action taken by the legislature. We do everything we can to share that information with our colleagues who don’t necessarily prioritize the interests of business owners.”