$88 Million ‘Unitary’ Business Tax Increase in Senate

Labor unions and other advocacy groups are working hard to pass an extremely harmful business-tax-increase bill as the legislative session nears the finish line.

According to the state Office of Fiscal Analysis, SB-485, the so-called “unitary tax” bill, will raise business taxes by $88 million annually.

• Act now to stop this tax increase. Contact your legislators today.

Mandatory unitary combined reporting strikes at the heart of the very businesses we count on for job growth in Connecticut. It directly impacts companies that have multiple locations—which just happen to be our economic-base industries, such as manufacturing, R&D, and headquarters companies that employ tens of thousands of our residents.

Advocates of the bill accuse Connecticut businesses of not paying their “fair share” of taxes—ignoring the fact that Connecticut’s employers pay billions each year in taxes and various other costs, including some of the highest labor, energy and health care costs in the United States.

These companies also provide vital financial and economic support to their communities and local nonprofit organizations.

That’s why, even if this bill won’t directly affect every company in the state, what it will do, however, is weaken Connecticut’s overall economy. Under the guise of “fairness,” proponents of the measure want state spending to increase even farther beyond what taxpayers can afford.

CBIA and the Coalition Against Harmful Tax Measures are urging its members to contact their state legislators and ask them to oppose SB-485 because:

• It will increase business taxes by $88 million a year during an extremely difficult economy.
• It will raise the cost of doing business in Connecticut—which is already among the highest in the nation.
• The bill is purported to close so-called “loopholes” that have already been addressed in other ways in Connecticut
• The legislature should be focusing on measures that will help companies grow and add jobs. SB-485 will do just the opposite.

Every state that has adopted a unitary tax system is interprets the law differently, which has only led to great confusion, much delay in sorting out actual revenues, and costly litigation to straighten things out.

This year, lawmakers said they were going to focus on saving and creating jobs. SB-485 does nothing to help accomplish those goals. On the contrary, it makes Connecticut a less attractive place in which to do business.

Meanwhile, a proposal (HB-5534) to create a state tax review commission was modified this week to ensure that taxpayers’ confidential records are protected.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Bonnie Stewart at 860.244.1925 or bonnie.stewart@cbia.com.