In a hit piece in the Connecticut Post today, a reporter named Dan Haar points out what he says is the result of the plan from Republican Bob Stefanowski to end the Connecticut income tax. Haar says that the richest 400 families in the state will save $3.6 million on average. According to Haar, this shows that the Stefanowski plan is just meant to benefit the ultra-rich.
This is the kind of article that a Democrat hack writer will typically put forward. It says that rich people will benefit from something, so it must be a bad idea. But that not only misses the point, it's wrong.
Let's take a look at the Stefanowski plan. He wants to phase out the state personal income tax over eight years. That means that every person in the state who pays income tax will benefit. Haar looks only at the super rich and says that since they won't have to pay the tax any more, it must be a bad idea. But what about a woman who makes $50,000 per year. Right now, she is paying about $2,300 in state income taxes each year. That's a lot less than the $3.6 million paid by one of the super rich, but I bet that the $2300 means much more to her than the $3.6 million means to the super rich. And how about the family that makes $100,000 per year. Right now, they pay around $4,600 per year in state taxes. Is it a bad idea to take that burden off of that family? Haar says it would be because someone rich might also benefit. Most people making $100,000 would be only too happy to get out of paying that tax bill. There's a lot one could do with an extra $95 per week.
Remember, the reason that the wealthy get such big tax reductions from Stefanowski's plan is because they are already paying huge amounts in taxes. If the tax burden is removed from EVERYONE, it cannot be a bad idea simply because some wealthy people will get the same relief as everyone else.
And then there's one last thing to keep in mind about the wealthy getting these tax reductions under the Stefanowski plan: people can and do move. A very wealthy person can easily move to Florida or New Hampshire and pay no tax. Most of these wealthy people don't have to live in CT. We have, in fact, been experiencing a drain of wealthy people leaving the state for the last decade or more. CT used to have the highest income of any state; that is no longer true, and we keep sinking lower. Stefanowski's plan will stop that loss of wealthy people. And remember when a wealthy person leaves, it is not just the loss of one individual; it is also the loss of all the purchases made from local stores, services bought from local companies, and wealth used to benefit Connecticut.
Now let's take a look at the plan of Democrat Ned Lamont to RAISE taxes. Lamont want to focus more of the burden on the wealthiest individuals. Suppose you were a really rich person and your taxes just jumped from 3.6 million bucks to 5.0 million. Would it make you more likely to move out of the state? Obviously, the answer is yes. The Lamont plan would just drive more wealth out of CT and actually worsen the state's economy. Put another way, you cannot tax your way to prosperity.
This is the information that the Lamont campaign will never tell you. It is, however, something that everyone in CT needs to know before voting. Lamont would be a disaster for us all.
This is the kind of article that a Democrat hack writer will typically put forward. It says that rich people will benefit from something, so it must be a bad idea. But that not only misses the point, it's wrong.
Let's take a look at the Stefanowski plan. He wants to phase out the state personal income tax over eight years. That means that every person in the state who pays income tax will benefit. Haar looks only at the super rich and says that since they won't have to pay the tax any more, it must be a bad idea. But what about a woman who makes $50,000 per year. Right now, she is paying about $2,300 in state income taxes each year. That's a lot less than the $3.6 million paid by one of the super rich, but I bet that the $2300 means much more to her than the $3.6 million means to the super rich. And how about the family that makes $100,000 per year. Right now, they pay around $4,600 per year in state taxes. Is it a bad idea to take that burden off of that family? Haar says it would be because someone rich might also benefit. Most people making $100,000 would be only too happy to get out of paying that tax bill. There's a lot one could do with an extra $95 per week.
Remember, the reason that the wealthy get such big tax reductions from Stefanowski's plan is because they are already paying huge amounts in taxes. If the tax burden is removed from EVERYONE, it cannot be a bad idea simply because some wealthy people will get the same relief as everyone else.
And then there's one last thing to keep in mind about the wealthy getting these tax reductions under the Stefanowski plan: people can and do move. A very wealthy person can easily move to Florida or New Hampshire and pay no tax. Most of these wealthy people don't have to live in CT. We have, in fact, been experiencing a drain of wealthy people leaving the state for the last decade or more. CT used to have the highest income of any state; that is no longer true, and we keep sinking lower. Stefanowski's plan will stop that loss of wealthy people. And remember when a wealthy person leaves, it is not just the loss of one individual; it is also the loss of all the purchases made from local stores, services bought from local companies, and wealth used to benefit Connecticut.
Now let's take a look at the plan of Democrat Ned Lamont to RAISE taxes. Lamont want to focus more of the burden on the wealthiest individuals. Suppose you were a really rich person and your taxes just jumped from 3.6 million bucks to 5.0 million. Would it make you more likely to move out of the state? Obviously, the answer is yes. The Lamont plan would just drive more wealth out of CT and actually worsen the state's economy. Put another way, you cannot tax your way to prosperity.
This is the information that the Lamont campaign will never tell you. It is, however, something that everyone in CT needs to know before voting. Lamont would be a disaster for us all.
2 comments:
This is wrong on so many levels it's hard to get a handle on it. First of all, a person making $50,000 pays about $1,450 a year in income tax. Second, it's not about rich vs. poor, it's about the right balance of taxing and spending to operate the economy efficiently. Some high-tax states do well, some low-tax states do poorly. It's not a simple lever. Third, everything is about trade-offs. Certainly it would be great to give everyone a tax break but in the real world, tax breaks must be accompanied by cost reductions. No Republican has proposed to cut the state budget by more than $400 million, and even that proposal required several maneuvers that would be plainly shot down in court, such as unilaterally breaking the SEBAC agreement. But let's say Bob Stefanowski can find $1 billion in waste, as he claims. That's one-tenth of the income tax cut without losing revenue from the corporate earnings tax, the estate and gift taxes, and the business entity tax -- all of which should be cut before the income tax as a matter of growing the economy. Finally, it comes down to understanding the system. Malloy was able to make the state far more streamlined than Rowland-Rell because he actually stidied it and as a result, was able to cut some 4,000 state employee jobs. Rowland blustered like Stefanowski and didn't succeed in cutting because he didn't learn the workings of the government. Malloy would have done even ebtter if he could work with the legislature. The state budget numbers are public and organized fairly cleanly. Go and study them before claiming you have an understanding of what it takes the right the state's economy.
Sorry Dan Haar, but you're the one who is wrong. You tell us about how much a person pays in income tax, but you cite the numbers for federal taxes not CT state income taxes. They are two different things. Second, you are wrong also that no GOP person has proposed more than $400 million in cuts. Bob Stefanowski has proposed much more. Try reading his website where he goes into detail about how these cuts would be achieved. And remember, his plan is not to do away with the income tax in one year, but to phase it out over 8 years. There's tons of waste in the state budget to cut. For example, according to the Yankee Institute, there are 23 taxes that CT collects for which the collection cost exceeds the amount collected. Getting rid of both the tax and the collection people will save money. We could also privatize things like the DMV and save over $100 million each year. The Legislature could manage to break the sweetheart deal Malloy and the Dems used to buy the votes of the state employees; that too will provide major savings. Read the website and stop pontificating about things you don't seem to understand.
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