McKinney Presents Plan to 'Give People Their Money Back'

Republican gubernatorial candidate John McKinney, of Fairfield, stopped by Stratford Thursday afternoon touting his plan to “give people their money back.”

During a press conference outside a plaza, McKinney presented a plan to eliminate the state income tax for residents earning less than $75,000 beginning in 2017.

“We believe middle class people across Connecticut have paid too much in taxes and they deserve their money back,” McKinney told CTNewsJunkie.com.

McKinney, the state senate minority leader, said his plan would impact one million residents and he would make several cuts to fund the tax break that would total $746 million.

According to the Connecticut Post, McKinney would lay off middle-management positions in state government, force concessions from state unions and end the Earned Income Tax Credit for Connecticut’s poorest residents, among other things. McKinney also said he plans to cut more than $1.4 billion from the $19 billion state budget, the Post reports.

“If we want to grow our economy, if we want to grow jobs, if we want to reverse the trend where people and jobs and businesses are leaving Connecticut every single day, we need to give people their money back,” McKinney told the Connecticut Post.

McKinney also criticized his opponent in the Aug. 12 primary, Tom Foley, for his plans, or lack thereof.

In return, McKinney’s plan was criticized both by the Foley camp and the Democratic Party.

Read CTNewsJunkie’s full story here and the Connecticut Post here.