State Rep. Rutigliano: Tax Freedom Day

This year the residents of Connecticut have to work until May 13, four and a half months, to pay off their taxes.  May 13, also known as Tax Freedom Day, is the day of the current year where you have finally earned enough to pay your combined federal state and local tax burdens, enabling us to retain the balance of our earnings. Connecticut has the distinct honor of having the latest Tax Freedom Day in the entire nation.

And scariest of all, we are moving in the wrong direction.  Last year Connecticut’s Tax Freedom Day was May 5^th. This year you will have to work one additional week in order to pay your taxes. Why are we moving in the wrong direction?  Because government always finds a need for whatever money it gets. The main driver of this is Governor Malloy’s $2.6 billion tax increase, the biggest in state history, enacted just two years ago.  Despite those record breaking tax increases, Connecticut now faces another $2 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years.

This is troubling enough by itself, but when coupled with the statistics below, doesn’t make for a very bright future:

• Barron’s rated Connecticut’s debt situation as the worst in the country in 2012 (Bary, Andrew. “State of the States” Barron’s. August 27, 2012)
• TopRetirements.com ranked Connecticut as the 2012 worst state for retirement (Murphy, Eamon. “The 10 Worst States to Retire In: They’re Frosty and Costly” January 13, 2012. TopRetirements.com)
• The Institute for Truth in Accounting ranked Connecticut’s financial status as the worst in the nation with a debt burden of $49,000 per taxpayer (The Institute for Truth in Accounting, “The Financial State of the States”)
• Connecticut’s credit quality was ranked 50th in the nation by Conning Inc’s State of the States Municipal Credit Research Report in 2012 (Sturdevant, M. “Connecticut Ranks Last Among 50 States in Credit Analysis by Conning” Courant Blogs. November 27, 2012.)
• Connecticut’s Achievement Gap is the worst in the nation according to the Connecticut Council for Education Reform
• The Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors by the Cato Institute gave Gov. Dan Malloy an “F” (Edwards, Chris. “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors” October 9, 2012.)

Many in Hartford say that Connecticut is the land of steady habits.  As your representative I am committed to changing this.  Our children shouldn’t have to leave our great state to find opportunity -- they should be able to find opportunity right here in Connecticut.  As a legislature we must make a commitment to make more opportunity a reality. 

Our American system of limited government, low taxes, reasonable regulations, and sound money, has afforded us with unprecedented prosperity. And it has done more to help the poor than any other economic system ever designed. Connecticut's current course is not conducive to job creation and personal-income growth. Changes are needed. Without stronger personal-income growth, Connecticut's economy will remain in a bad place. We cannot tax and spend our way into prosperity – it’s time to change course.