Letter: Governor, legislative Democrats differ on new ways to tax you

To the Editor:

As the Governor indicated in his budget proposals today, it is his hope that the state government can avoid any broad tax increases for Connecticut households in the next budget. Maybe it’s a product of the remote environment we're working in - the Governor's budget presentation was even pre-recorded - but members of his own party don't seem to be on the same page. For months, Hartford Democrats have been calling for statewide tax hikes on everything from gasoline to soda.

Most notably, Senator Martin Looney (D-New Haven) thinks he has found a solution to declining tax revenues in cities like New Haven: taxing real estate in other towns. That's right, Sen. Looney's proposal — which he falsely claims is a tax on mansions — would create an unprecedented new statewide tax on residential and commercial property with a market value of $430,000 or more.

As a realtor, I know that so many homes in Connecticut listed in the six figures are hardly mansions. Especially in Fairfield County, which is in the middle of its own real estate boom, you're getting a reasonably sized family home with a nice backyard within reach of some of the best school districts in the country. The quintessential American dream, but not quite Beverly Hills or Brentwood.

Despite Governor Lamont's repeated desire for no new "broad-based" taxes, his plan still calls for trucks-only tolling and an additional gas tax. It seems that instead of working to make your life easier, they have decided to spend their time debating proposals that would make it more difficult and cost you more.

I reached out to my constituents to hear their opinions and one reply, from an exasperated resident of Shelton, called proposals like these out for what they really are: "Connecticut's war on prosperity."

Ben McGorty

State Representative serving the 122nd General Assembly District of Shelton, Stratford and Trumbull.

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