The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
A tax-based trial balloon that burst
We all know that political office holders, from time to time, toss out proposals to test public reaction before locking themselves into committing to carry out the proposal.
In the race for governor, Ned Lamont made very few mistakes and that has been true of his first 30 or so days in office. However, his talking about extending the 6.35 percent sales tax to cover groceries and medications is a loser in every way.
Removing these sales tax exemptions certainly could bring the state hundreds of millions of dollars to help cover an estimated $1.5 billion dollar budget shortfall through the next fiscal year.
However, the problem in eliminating the exemptions is that the people least able to pay additional taxes would be hit hardest. The proposed tax is not only regressive but would hurt the working poor that Lamont and his liberal (progressive) allies promised to help and protect.
Reaction to the sale tax trial balloon has been extremely negative and it is a good bet that the Legislature will never see the proposal in any formal way. As well, it is highly unlikely that it will appear in Lamont’s final budget.
The impact of the additional sales tax on the elderly, trying to make do on Social Security checks and people struggling to make it paycheck to paycheck would be horrific.
Ned, go back and huddle with your advisers — toss this gambit out the window.
What bothers me is that there is no talk about a so-called “millionaires’ tax” — a tax that would work. An additional 1 or 2 percent income tax surcharge for those earning more than a million dollars a year, net, would not hurt that segment of our population lucky enough to make such serious money. It would be a lot better than taxing the sale of bread, butter, milk and assorted groceries plus prescription drugs (which are too expensive to begin with).
The great thing about the Lamont administration having people that do not take a paycheck, including the governor, is that they are in all likelihood honorable and do not need money, so hopefully self-dealing will be out of the picture.
The good news is they are working for nothing, which greatly enhances the odds of their being honest, but of course it does not guarantee their necessarily being capable. The bad news is, can they relate to the rest of us?
They probably know nothing about struggling to meet a payroll, feed a family and figuring out how to pay tuition, and provide shelter and clothing. That is the real world for the vast majority of residents of Connecticut.
Remember, President Trump didn’t take a salary either and look where that has gotten us.
On balance I would prefer people in government who need their paycheck and understand from personal experience, the difficulty of making financial ends meet in Connecticut where taxes are, without any question, crippling. Any new sales tax can tip the scale where fewer and fewer of Connecticut’s hardworking ordinary citizens can continue to live in Connecticut.
Attorney Edward L. Marcus is former chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee in Connecticut and former state Senate majority leader. His office is in Branford.