Representative DebraLee Hovey (R-112) today expressed concern about the levels of taxing and increased spending in Governor Dannel Malloy’s proposed budget, and said it set the wrong priorities for the State of Connecticut while wasting an opportunity to fundamentally restructure state government and make government live within its means.
Hovey said the governor’s proposal spends $900 million more over the next two years, according to Malloy’s own budget director Ben Barnes. The budget increases income and sales taxes by $3.4 billion over two years squarely on the middle class who are already squeezed in this economic crisis.
“I do appreciate that Governor Malloy is not relying on any gimmicks or one-time revenues in his budget, nor is he borrowing to close the deficit which would make things much worse,” said Representative Hovey. “That said, I don’t see much of the ‘shared sacrifice’ he has repeatedly said we must endure. Instead, I see a middle class crushed with new higher taxes on nearly everything that can be taxed, and I see a government that continues to grow through new spending into the next biennium. If this is what the governor meant by a radical restructuring of government, it falls incredibly short of the mark.”
Hovey noted that while neighboring states are making the tough decisions and cutting the size and scope of state government they are doing so without calling for higher taxes.
“Other states are recognizing that government needs to live within its means, yet Connecticut will apparently be defying that trend,” said Representative Hovey. “These higher taxes will do immense damage to our largest priority, which is creating and expanding jobs in this state. The governor’s budget will make it harder to start a business in this state, and harder to keep a business afloat here.”
Hovey did praise the governor for seeking concessions from unions in the amount of $1 billion and his effort to get more rescission authority, as well as the fact that the budget does not cut aid to municipalities which could result in greater property tax increases.
