February 15, 2012
Better Choices for Connecticut, a coalition dedicated to creating a more sustainable and fair revenue system, is calling for the state to study and report on income inequality in the state.
Better Choices’ 2012 Legislative Agenda, released today, also calls on the state to make a rigorous review of the effectiveness of business tax subsidies in creating job and to report on how Connecticut’s state and local taxes affect different income groups and businesses of different sizes.
“The entire country has been engaged in a lively debate about wealth disparity and ‘99% vs. 1%’. Nowhere is that discussion more critical than here in Connecticut, where we have the largest gap between rich and poor in the country,” said Liz Dupont-Diehl, Policy Director at the Connecticut Association for Human Services. “We need to better understand income and wealth inequality in our state, as well as the benefits of tax credits and whether or not they are creating jobs or stimulating the economy.”
“Corporate tax loopholes tend to benefit large, multi-state corporations that have the resources to take advantage of them,” said Wade Gibson, Senior Policy Fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children. “By closing these loopholes, we can level the playing field for smaller businesses and make our business tax system more fair.”
Better Choices presented these priorities for the 2012 legislative session:
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Institute regular reporting of income and wealth inequality and of what people and businesses at different incomes and sizes actually pay in state and local taxes.
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Improve business tax credit transparency and accountability by ensuring the new business tax credit review commissions have teeth, i.e., access to the necessary data and a mandate to maximize effectiveness.
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Close corporate tax loopholes and improve fairness for smaller businesses through “combined reporting” and “throwback rule” reforms.
