{news} Fightin' Words Fly Over Tax Plan

Sat Feb 10 07:57:56 EST 2007

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-rellbudget0209.artfeb09,0,7750778story?coll=hc-headlines-politics-state<http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-rellbudget0209.artfeb09,0,7750778.story?coll=hc-headlines-politics-state>

The cigerette tax will spur more hijacking of cigerette trucks.
At present, the hijacking of cigerette trucks are in the top
three for hijacaking.  This plan sounds a lot like what we
Greens were talking about.  Our Ideas have permeated
the Republican party. 

      POLITICS 

Fightin' Words Fly Over Tax Plan
 Amann, Rell Open '07 Budget Battle
February 9, 2007 
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, Capitol Bureau Chief 

      A day after Gov. M. Jodi Rell's stunning proposal to increase the state income tax, the House speaker on Thursday charged she "didn't have the guts to tell people" during last fall's election campaign that she planned to raise taxes.

      The allegation by Democratic House Speaker James Amann was part of a sometimes fiery, sometimes condescending exchange of statements between him and the governor over funding her plan for sweeping improvements to the state's public schools.

      Amann had questioned Rell's plan to raise $1.3 billion in new income taxes over the next two years when the state already has $1 billion in a "rainy day" fund and anticipates a surplus of more than a half-billion dollars in the current fiscal year.

      Referring to remarks Amann made Wednesday, the governor - during an unexpected visit to the Capitol press room - dismissed using a surplus to pay for an ongoing schools program because the money may not be there in the future.

      "Frankly, the speaker is the speaker of the House. He knows better," Rell chided. "That's not how you operate."

      Told of that remark, Amann retorted, "I don't need Mother Rell to wag her finger in my face about budgets." Then he assailed her for not talking about tax increases before an election she ultimately won in a landslide.

      In presenting her budget Wednesday, the governor proposed raising the state income tax from its current 5 percent to 5.5 percent over two years. She would use the $1.3 billion in new revenue for a dramatic increase in education spending, coupled with wide-ranging improvements in programs from early childhood education to college.

      Amann questioned the need for so much new tax revenue and complained that the bulging state surplus indicated residents already are overtaxed. That touched off Thursday's rhetorical ping-pong match.

      During her visit to the Capitol press room, Rell was asked about her position on the "millionaires' tax." She responded by volunteering that Amann's statements about surpluses had been off-base.

      "My comment to that is this is exactly the mistake that was made in the early '80s, when people said we have this money, let's go ahead and pay for this new program," Rell said. "And the next year, it wasn't there. The worst thing we could do now is use one-time revenue for any ongoing program."

      She added: "It's just not feasible to do that. ... There's some tough decisions to be made."

      Amann said the state could never have generated surpluses on a regular basis in recent years without the tax revenues from hard-working citizens.

      "First of all, she's all wet," Amann said of Rell. "We raised too many taxes already or else we wouldn't have a surplus. Somebody's being overtaxed, and I think the governor should understand that. I don't need to be lectured by someone who was part of the Rowland-Rell administration. Give me a break!"

      Amann said he was trying to make a broader point that the state's coffers have been filling up lately. All indications are that the surplus will only grow larger from capital gains taxes, he said, because the Dow Jones industrial average has broken records multiple times in recent months.

      As a result, he said, the projections that the state could have a deficit as much as $800 million next year, based on the current services that are being offered, are inflated and erroneous.

      Amann also criticized Rell for proposing the elimination of the estate tax for those who die with more than $2 million. He said her plan for hiking the cigarette tax to $2 per pack would disproportionately hurt those who could least afford the increase.

      "She's also taxing the same people who got nailed with huge utility increases, and the middle class is tired of it," said Amann, a Milford Democrat who was first elected to the legislature in 1990. "She's taxing the wrong people. Don't put a cigarette tax on the middle class."

      Instead, Amann called again for the so-called millionaires' tax that he said should be imposed on "the rich of the rich - those making $500,000 or more." He added that Rell is proposing the estate-tax elimination so that "all her millionaire buddies" would benefit.

      Despite the rhetoric of the day, Amann predicted that the Democrats and the Rell administration would eventually reach a budget compromise as they have in the past.

      Thursday's comments were reminiscent of Amann's April 2005 statement that he didn't care if Rell developed carpal tunnel syndrome - a condition caused by repetitive motion - from vetoing so many Democratic budgets. Less than two months later, the two sides reached a final budget agreement.

      When asked if the budget unveiled Wednesday would be finished before the legislature adjourns June 6, Amann said, "We're going to be fine."

      During her discussion with reporters Thursday, Rell did not rule out the millionaires' tax that many expect the Democrats to propose. She said the issue would be open to discussion over the next four months.

      Asked again for her position on it, Rell said, "That subject has not been broached to me publicly, except in the paper. Do I want it? Nah."

      Contact Christopher Keating at ckeating at courant.com. 

Efficacy
PO Box 1234
860 657 8438
Hartford, CT 06143
efficacy at msn.com<mailto:efficacy at msn.com>
www.Efficacy-online.org<http://www.efficacy-online.org/>

Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit
501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax
deductible
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20070210/9a6b4b65/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: blackpix.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 35 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20070210/9a6b4b65/attachment.gif>