Tax Study Panel Hires Consultant

As the Governor’s budget address on Feb. 18 grows closer, CBIA is also following the activities of the State Tax Study Panel that was commissioned by the General Assembly last session.  

Divided into four subcommittees, the panel is charged with reviewing Connecticut’s income, corporate, consumer, and property tax structures and recommending how to modernize our tax system and make it fairer and more stable.  

At its most recent meeting, the panel selected a consultant, Robert Ebel, who has done similar work for Minnesota, Nevada, and the District of Columbia, to develop a report on Connecticut’s tax policy. 

There’s still a way to go—the report is due to the legislature by January 2016—but the work is critically important as both Connecticut’s economy and fiscal condition continue to cause concern.

The panel also recently heard a detailed presentation by the state Office of Policy and Management on Connecticut’s local property tax.   

Income tax

Also of particular interest to small businesses is the panel’s review of the personal income tax – a tax that produces roughly 50% of the state’s annual revenues.

What many don’t realize is that in Connecticut, the personal income tax impacts thousands of small businesses. That’s because businesses formed as S corporations, limited liability companies or other similar structures pay tax on their business income under the personal income tax, not the corporate income tax

The Tax Study Panel also is examining sales taxes, exemptions, and corporate income all in an effort to make Connecticut more economically competitive by reducing the complexity of the tax system and making the process more predictable.

Co-chaired by former State Sen. William Nickerson and former State Rep. William Dyson, the panel is comprised of thirteen other members consisting of accountants and experts in the fields of tax, economics and finance.

The panel is expected to hold another meeting soon.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Louise DiCocco at 860 244.1169 or louise.dicocco@cbia.com.