A coalition of industry and employer groups is calling on Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly to abandon proposals for a $50 million tax on the state’s health insurers, arguing the plans could devastate businesses at a time when Connecticut’s coffers are already flush with cash from rebounding tax revenues and federal stimulus programs.
Opinion : Why Connecticut s proposed digital advertising tax is defective courant.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from courant.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It is aggravating that these incredibly powerful, monopolistic companies face few taxes even as they are so dependent on public services and infrastructure to get their products to market, in the case of Amazon, or to rake in billions of advertising dollars, like Facebook and Google.
Cheeseman wants these companies to pay their fair share, with some of that new tax revenue earmarked for programs to prevent suicide, which has been linked to online bullying.
The bill has moved forward in the budgetary process. It is modeled after the first such digital advertising tax law, approved recently in Maryland by the Democratic legislature over the veto of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, where it is expected to pull in $250 million in revenue in its first year.
The Connecticut Business & Industry Association today decried a series of tax increases approved by the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on Thursday, arguing the new levies will only stunt Connecticut’s economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when the state’s coffers are not in urgent need of more cash.
“Small businesses will bear the brunt of many of these tax increases and it defies sensible logic that there are lawmakers who think further burdening struggling smaller employers is a positive for the state,” said CBIA President and CEO Chris DiPentima. “That’s the same illogical thinking that caused Connecticut to be near the bottom of the nation in recovery from the 2008-2009 recession.”