CT Car Taxes Could Be Eliminated Under Budget Proposal

HARTFORD, CT — State legislators are getting closer to a tentative and potentially veto-proof budget. New details including a rise in the cigarette tax and potential to eventually eliminate car taxes came out Thursday.

Republican and Democratic legislators have been hammering out a bipartisan budget that Malloy so far hasn’t seen, according to the Connecticut Post.Taxes on cigarettes could increase by 45 cents per pack and teachers could be forced to put one percent more of their pay into the pension account. The earned income tax credit could be reduced for lower-income families and the popular $200 property tax credit could be eliminated for all except the elderly and those with dependents.

News out of left field came Thursday as Republican House Minority Leader Themis Klarides said that the tax on motor vehicles could be eliminated as early as the 2018-2019 fiscal year, according to the CT Mirror. Currently Connecticut cities and towns get about $800 million from the tax. Democratic leaders said that property taxes would have to go up to compensate, according to WTNH’s Mark Davis.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has yet to see a copy of budget proposals that are being hashed out among legislators. It’s a big break from tradition as governors for the past 35 years have had input up until all details were ironed out, according to the Hartford Courant.