Tax relief for the rest of us

For nearly two years, the state and federal governments have been trying to help people make it through the pandemic with new programs and aid. Now, as inflation rises and the COVID threat decreases, the best thing we can do to help is cut taxes for Connecticut’s working and middle class.

For the first time in a long time, our state’s finances are actually in a position in which we can do so while also paying off debt and preserving our Rainy Day Fund. Just last week, the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis certified budget surpluses of around $200 million in each of the next two fiscal years.

While this is undoubtably welcome news for our state, it’s not telling the whole story. Wall Street and our state coffers are doing fine, but Main Street is not. By acting now, we can give real relief to people and families at a time they need it most. Here are two ways:

First, boost the property tax credit. Gov. Ned Lamont is absolutely right to propose increasing the state’s property tax credit and broadening its eligibility so that it reaches more people.

Nothing hurts Connecticut’s potential for economic growth more than our antiquated property tax system. Earlier this year, I introduced legislation to cap annual property tax increases. The legislation would encourage towns to lower the need for increases by sharing local services.

We in state government must work with our partners in local government to bring structural changes like “cap and share” to the system. But in the meantime, we can make Connecticut more affordable for property owners by working with the governor on a new and improved property tax credit.

Second, cut the income tax for working parents. Even before COVID or the recent rise in inflation, the cost of raising a child here was tremendous. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average cost of child care is $1,292 per month. That represents nearly 20 percent of a median family’s income in Connecticut and 75 percent of a minimum wage worker’s income.

And that’s just child care. Add in food, clothes and diapers, and it’s easy to see just how expensive being a parent is on a monthly basis.

Thanks to U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven and President Biden, American parents have been receiving an expanded version of the existing federal child tax credit, but unfortunately those much-appreciated payments are set to end next year. While the latest version of the President’s Build Back Better bill does include a one-year extension of the program, many parents are watching the gridlock in Washington and the cost of necessities going up and rightly worrying about the credit going away.

We can ease their minds by creating a state version of the child tax credit, something I proposed doing earlier this year.

By creating this new child tax credit, we can cut the income tax for every Connecticut family with two children making less than $200,000 a year by a staggering 40 percent. This tax cut — the largest in state history — would mean an extra $1,200 in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of Connecticut taxpayers to help fill up their tanks and put food on the table.

Government has met the moment during the last two years when it came to helping people. We can meet the moment now in a different way by delivering real and long overdue tax relief to those who need it most: Connecticut’s working and middle class.