House Passes Amended Tax Credit ‘Transparency’ Bill

The House this week passed an amended bill that expands public access to information about how state business tax credits, loans and grants are being used. State agencies already collect and make that data public but it will be made somewhat easier to find through a new Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) database.

As first proposed by the state comptroller, HB 6566  also would have identified the companies using the business tax credits along with their specific credit-related activities. But state officials and the business community successfully argued that identifying businesses by name would have compromised sensitive company data and the effectiveness of the tax credit programs. 

Connecticut companies qualify for state tax credits only after making certain investments or taking specific actions that the General Assembly allows and encourages. Often, those businesses don’t reap the benefits until years after those investments or hiring actions. 

What’s more, the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) is fully empowered to audit the credits and does so, to ensure that the state receives the bargained investment required to claim the tax credit.

The amended bill says the database can’t disclose information that by state or federal law must be kept confidential, this means that statutory tax credit (those administered by DRS) information may only be released in the aggregate.

It’s expected that the Senate also will approve HB 6566.

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