Malloy: Eliminating Car Tax Unlikely This Year

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's controversial proposal to eliminate local taxes on cars worth $28,000 and less isn't likely to get enacted this year.

The plan, broadly opposed by municipal leaders across the state, failed to make it out of a legislative committee earlier this month and was unpopular as well with groups that lobby on behalf of towns.

In a press briefing on Friday, Malloy told reporters that while he thinks the proposal is dead for this year, he believes the discussion on the plan was productive and some form of the measure could be raised again in the future, according to the blog Capitol Watch.

Malloy had proposed eliminating local taxes on cars valued at $28,000 and less as a form of middle class tax relief. Although town leaders have argued the tax provides millions of dollars in local revenues, Malloy has countered it's not as lucrative as it seems because it's difficult and costly to collect.

Naugatuck Tax Collector Jim Goggin said he believed that if car taxes were eliminated, they would have been made up by increasing other local taxes.

"So if there is no real tax relief, then I guess dead on arrival is as good as it gets," he said.