After overwhelming state finances for more than a decade, mandatory contributions Connecticut’s pension funds for state employees and municipal teachers appear to have stabilized.
But even as pressures on state finances reach equilibrium, another pension fund, which serves more than 10,000 municipal employees and retirees, has left many cities and towns feeling the fiscal bite.
In an attempt to help families, senior citizens and restaurants, state legislators debated a panoply of tax proposals Monday as they try to find the right mix as they balance the state’s budget.
While the prospects of a landmark state income tax cut have dominated recent headlines, there’s no shortage of ideas at the Capitol for how to help consumers by trimming the sales tax.
Lawmakers from both parties have proposed reducing the 6.35% sales tax rate that’s been in place since 2011 while also seeking to create new exemptions or restore old ones.
Republican legislators also have taken aim at a controversial 1% surcharge on restaurant food and other prepared meals, hoping to suspend or repeal that four-year-old levy entirely.
A bite-sized look at what we are hearing: Connecticut struggles to address EMS shortages and reimbursement rates, and catalytic convertor thefts are on the rise on Long Island.