Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Connecticut

ITEP’s Marco Guzman Testifies in Favor of Tax Fairness Bills in Connecticut

March 11, 2024

Good afternoon, Senator Fonfara, Representative Horn, and members of the Committee, and thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Marco Guzman and I'm a senior policy analyst with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, and we’re a nonprofit research organization that focuses on state, local, and federal tax policy issues. 

Connecticut: Who Pays? 7th Edition

January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Connecticut Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in Connecticut, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly 100 percent of state and local tax revenue collected in Connecticut. State and local tax shares of family income Top 20% Income Group […]

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New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut Should Keep Corporate Taxes Strong, Extend Surcharges

February 28, 2023 • By Marco Guzman

At a time when corporations are seeing record profits while not paying their fair share of federal taxes, state corporate income taxes can and should play a role in raising sustainable revenue and adding progressivity to state tax codes. Right now, lawmakers in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut have a unique opportunity to extend targeted tax changes that have raised billions of dollars from profitable corporations for meaningful public investments.

Connecticut Voices for Children: Steps to a Fairer Tax System

February 1, 2022

Although Connecticut has the second highest level of per capita personal income in the US, making it exceptionally wealthy overall, many families consistently struggle because Connecticut also has the second highest level of income inequality and a substantial racial income gap, meaning a small, disproportionately white portion of the population primarily benefits from the state’s […]

Connecticut Post: State Rep. Sean Scanlon (opinion): State child tax credit would ease burden on families

March 24, 2021

The good news for families is that President Biden’s recently passed stimulus bill features a provision long championed by my Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro that not only makes the tax credit fully refundable but also expands the credit from $2,000 to $3,000 for children 6 to 17 and to $3,600 per child under the age of […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Advancing Economic Justice Through Tax Reform

December 8, 2020

Connecticut Voices for Children released a new report, “Advancing Economic Justice Through Tax Reform,” which proposes a tax restructure so that the system is fair for all residents. The report provides an overview of economic injustice in Connecticut, Connecticut’s regressive tax system and shows that it is a key contributor to the economic injustice in the state, […]

ITEP Testimony Regarding Connecticut Senate Bill 16, An Act Concerning the Adult Use of Cannabis

March 4, 2020 • By Carl Davis

This testimony explains the advantages of the cannabis tax structure proposed in Connecticut’s Senate Bill 16 and offers additional background information as well as ideas for potential changes to the bill.

Reforming Connecticut’s Tax System: A Program to Strengthen Working- and Middle-Class Families

January 15, 2020

Connecticut Voices for Children released a report that examined the state’s income and wealth inequality and the state’s regressive tax system that exacerbates these inequalities.

Connecticut Voices for Children: Impact of the FY 2020-2021 Appropriations and Finance Committee Budget and Revenue Proposals on Children and Families

May 23, 2019

The report recommends that state legislators and the Governor repeal the state’s Bond Lock, revise the volatility cap, and implement additional tax reforms that begin to correct the state’s regressive revenue system by asking more of the state’s wealthiest residents. Read more

Connecticut Voices for Children: Voices from the Capitol: Countdown to the End of the Session

May 10, 2019

Staff experts from our national partners – Elizabeth McNichol of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Aidan Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy – joined Jamie Mills of Connecticut Voices for Children in submitting powerful testimony before the Finance Committee in support of a modest surcharge on capital gains earned […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Testimony Supporting H.B. No. 7415

April 26, 2019

Smart state fiscal policies can play a critical role in building strong, equitable state economies. It is time we fix our tax laws to give working people and children a fair shot to get ahead by pursuing twin goals of assuring adequate revenues to support the programs and services vital to the well-being of our […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Even with Modest Capital Gains Tax, Wealthiest Would Pay Average of $36,000 Less in Taxes After Trump Tax Cuts

April 10, 2019

Connecticut faces a $4 billion deficit over the Fiscal Years 2020-21 biennial budget. Without adequate revenues, painful budget cuts that could fall heavily on children and families are inevitable. Read more

Connecticut Voices for Children: A Balanced Approach to Revenues: Ensuring Fairness and Adequacy

April 10, 2019

As the General Assembly develops its biennial budget facing a $4 billion deficit, Connecticut Voices for Children urges legislators and the Governor to adopt a balanced approach by adopting revenue streams that enhance the fairness of our tax system while providing the adequate funds to sustain us today and to invest for tomorrow. Budget cuts […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Impact of the Governor’s FY 2020-2021 Budget on Children and Families

March 31, 2019

Connecticut’s long-term fiscal health and economic growth depend on policies that improve equity and support our most vulnerable families and children. Governor Lamont’s proposed state budget avoids additional major cuts to essential programs and services, though it is based on revenue proposals that fall most heavily on our lowest income taxpayers. It asks little of […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Connecticut’s Radical New Budget Rules: Locking in Decreased Investment in our State for the Next Decade

March 31, 2019

Faced with increasingly difficult decisions in crafting the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 biennial budget, the Connecticut General Assembly found itself at an impasse. In order to break the log jam, the legislature included drastic measures in the final budget deal. It is increasingly clear that the long-term effects of these measures will be damaging to […]

Eagle Pass Business Journal: Report: Low-Income Taxpayers Pay Most in Connecticut

October 19, 2018

The report, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Connecticut Voices for Children, found the state’s lowest-income earners pay 41 percent more of their income in taxes than wealthier residents. According to Jamie Mills, director of fiscal policy and economic inclusion at Children’s Voices of Connecticut, taken as a whole the tax system in the Nutmeg State is upside down – because, as in many other states, the tax on personal income is only part of total tax revenue.

Connecticut: Who Pays? 6th Edition

October 17, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

CONNECTICUT Read as PDF CONNECTICUT STATE AND LOCAL TAXES Taxes as Share of Family Income Top 20% Income Group Lowest 20% Second 20% Middle 20% Fourth 20% Next 15% Next 4% Top 1% Income Range Less than $23,300 $23,300 to $45,800 $45,800 to $77,100 $77,100 to $131,500 $131,500 to $341,400 $341,400 to $968,200 over $968,200 […]

Tax Cuts 2.0 – Connecticut

September 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called “Tax Cuts 2.0” or “Tax Reform 2.0,” which would make the temporary provisions permanent. And they falsely claim that making these provisions permanent will benefit […]

How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect Connecticut Residents’ Federal Taxes

December 16, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with […]

How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect Connecticut Residents’ Federal Taxes

December 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of Connecticut residents.

How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect Connecticut Residents’ Federal Taxes

November 14, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In Connecticut, 57 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 22 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.

How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect Connecticut Residents’ Federal Taxes

November 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate…

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State Rundown 11/1: Connecticut Balances Budget, Leaves Tax Code Out of Whack

November 1, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week a "historic" but highly problematic budget agreement was finally reached in Connecticut, Michigan lawmakers banned localities from taxing any food or beverages, and Nebraska and North Dakota both got unpleasant news about future revenues. Also see our "what we're reading" section for news on 11 states that have run up long-term fiscal deficits since 2002 and the impacts of flooding on local tax bases.

GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in Connecticut with 82.6 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts

October 4, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in Connecticut equally. The richest one percent of Connecticut residents would receive 82.6 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $1,060,400 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $162,980 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 4.4 percent.

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State Rundown 8/31: Modernizing Taxes is Sometimes a Sprint, Sometimes a Marathon

August 31, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

Tax and budget debates are progressing at different paces in different parts of the country this week. In Connecticut and Wisconsin, lawmakers hope to finally settle their budget and tax differences soon. In South Dakota, a court case that could finally enable states to enforce their sales taxes on online retailers inches slowly closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.