It’s time for the state’s rich to pay their share

Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed about “the very rich: they’re different.” Their lavish lifestyles do something to them, he said. “It makes them soft when we are hard, and cynical when we are trustful.”

One other thing Fitzgerald overlooked: They don’t like to pay taxes. It was true during the early republic and it’s true today. In the 1950s, 1960s and early ‘70s, corporate executives tried to balance the interests of all stakeholders: owners, investors, officers, suppliers, customers and workers.

Then, captains of industry were seduced by the Gospel of Greed.

The focus on “we” became the focus on “me.” Taxes were for the lower classes. The rich were different.

Connecticut responded to this difference in 1991, with a 4.5 percent income tax with a golden lining for high rollers. The 13.8 percent corporate tax was lowered to 10.5 percent. The dividends and interest tax, which peaked at 14 percent, and the 7 percent capital gains tax were eliminated, with all income taxed at 4.5 percent. Today, the rich still enjoy a tax advantage. Their effective tax rate is lower than ours. Their media and legislative allies watch their backs. While the rich revel in the taxes saved, the less fortunate pick up the slack. The extra tax burden puts many close to the financial pain threshold, forcing them juggle limited finances and go without to make ends meet. This has gone on for too long. It’s time for the rich to shoulder their fair share of the burden.

Anson C. Smith, Wallingford