Rep. Shaban Blasts Democrats' Budget

HARTFORD – Seventeen hours after being called into the House Chamber on June 2, 2015, Rep. John Shaban (R-135) joined his Republican colleagues, and 11 Democrat legislators, in voting “no” on the tax, borrow and spend budget presented to the House at 5:30 a.m. The budget deal struck by Governor Malloy and majority party legislators passed 73-70 on the morning of June 3, 2015, following hours of backroom negotiations to garner enough democratic support to pass the budget.

As with the Democrats’ previous budget bills, this budget calls for another increase in spending — by more than $780 million, or seven percent — and a massive $1.5 billion tax hike. The budget also calls for:

• An increase in the top marginal rates for personal income tax to 6.99% (a percentage well above what the Finance Committee approved).
• The repeal of the sales tax exemption on clothing and footwear, which will extract another $180 million in taxes from all citizens at all income levels.
• Mandatory combined tax reporting on corporations that own out-of-state companies and divisions — e.g., GE, Aetna and Traveler’s (who have recently threatened to leave the state) — to impose yet another tax hike on Connecticut-based companies.
• Diversion of almost $20 million away from the Community Investment Act Account, i.e., the funds used for historic and farmland preservation.
• Reducing a host of tax credits, such as the current $300 Property Tax Credit which will impact every homeowner in the state, and comes on the heels of a previous reduction in 2011.

“With one month left in Fiscal Year 2015, we are still facing a $181 million budget deficit,” said Rep. Shaban. “What’s worse, the out year projections show a deficit of $664 million in year three and $551 million in year four; all in a two-year deficit of more than $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, we blow through the spending cap, and at the same time we punish the private sector, and continue to grow the size and burn rate of our gluttonous state government.”

Rep. Shaban concluded, “This budget fails to mitigate the exiting deficit, creates a future deficit, and ignores the structural spending problem that has kept us in fiscal decline for years. It is a remarkably bad plan.”