(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Tom Schatz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), sent a letter to Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, urging him to cut wasteful state government spending rather than raise taxes.  The letter reads as follows:

“On behalf of the 17,829 members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in the state of Connecticut, I urge you to abandon your efforts to increase taxes and instead focus your efforts on cutting excess spending from the state budget. 

“Reports indicate that you will today propose sweeping income, sales, gasoline, alcohol and cigarette taxes in one of the largest tax increase packages in the history of Connecticut. 

“Under your plan, sales taxes would rise to 6.25 percent for the first time since the state income tax was created in 1991.  Your middle-class constituents will be hit hard if you follow through with your proposal to eliminate a sales tax exemption for clothing and shoes under $50 and eliminate a $500 property tax credit.  Combined, these figures will cost taxpayers $500 million a year. 

“Proposals to increase the gas tax by 3 cents a gallon and raise the cigarette tax by 40 cents a pack to $3.40 will also hurt hard-working Connecticut residents.  History has shown that raising state excise taxes does not produce projected revenue.  Such tax increases drive purchases across state lines or to untaxed or lower-tax venues, like Native American territories and the Internet.  Of the 57 excise tax increases that states implemented between 2003 and 2007, only 16 met or exceeded revenue targets.  Excise taxes are extremely regressive and disproportionately impact the poor and those living on fixed incomes. 

“Your senior advisor, Roy Occhiogrosso, said, ‘People are being asked to make sacrifices across the board.’  However, at a time of economic turmoil, politicians should be pursuing policies that cut government spending and offer taxpayers some relief, rather than imposing new tax burdens.

“CCAGW urges you to retract your extensive tax hike proposals and to instead work toward cutting wasteful, duplicative and unnecessary government spending.” 

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.