Connecticut Comptroller Kevin Lembo is asking top state lawmakers to reconvene a special committee to study and evaluate the effectiveness of existing tax credits.
In a Wednesday letter to lawmakers including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lembo praised legislative leaders for passing the jobs bill during the October special session, but he urged the state to take steps to monitor the success of state tax credit programs that were established to promote business development and job creation through financial incentives to companies.
Specifically, Lembo recommended that the state take advantage of an existing state statute and immediately reconvene the Business Tax Credit and Tax Policy Committee.
Lembo said the committee was intended to study and evaluate existing credits against the corporation business tax and to make recommendations on changes or modifications necessary where tax policy “…is not providing a measurable benefit sufficient to justify any revenue loss to the state.”
“The state must now establish a strong, credible and verifiable mechanism to evaluate the success of these policy goals aimed at creating jobs,” Lembo wrote in his letter. “With millions of taxpayer dollars being invested in these job-creation initiatives, they must be monitored closely to ensure success.”
