After concluding his town hall tour, Gov. Dannel Malloy said Thursday at the state Capitol he will reinstate the property tax credit to his budget proposal, raising taxes on the wealthy to compensate.
As Malloy reached the 100 day mark in office, he reflected on the 17 town hall meetings he held across the state about his budget proposal. After meeting with the constituency, he asked the General Assembly to reinstate the property tax credit at a value of $300. The program was scrapped in Malloy’s proposed budget in February, which eliminated a $500 credit.
To pay for two-thirds of the restoration, he wants to change how wealthier taxpayers pay the personal income tax. For someone earning $1 million, it would mean an additional $1,000 in tax, The Associated Press reports.
“At various points along the way, people wrote that maybe I wasn’t listening – that maybe I was just on a venting tour – and that in the end I wouldn’t change anything in my budget proposal,” Malloy said. “With all due respect, the people who said that weren’t listening to what I was saying. All along, I’ve been saying the same thing: this budget is based on a set of principles from which I will not back down. But I also said that within the framework of those principles I’ve been trying to find the right balance, and that I was open to listening to people’s ideas.”
The General Assembly must approve the new two-year state budget before the legislative session ends in June. The budget goes into effect in July. Malloy’s proposed budget includes $2 billion in unspecified concessions from state workers, which have yet to be announced.
