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Fair Share Tax Reform
At a Tax Equity Caucus press conference last week, I highlighted a bill I introduced this session, HB 5117, which would create a fairer tax system while investing directly in Connecticut families and communities.
Modeled after a 2022 constitutional amendment in Massachusetts, the bill would add a 4% surtax on annual income over $1 million. The debate before the measure passed in Massachusetts centered on whether wealthy residents would leave the state.
Since voters approved the measure, however, revenues have exceeded expectations — generating more than $2 billion annually for transportation and education — while the number of millionaires in the commonwealth has grown significantly.
My proposal would dedicate new revenue to strengthen public education, expand universal school meals, improve infrastructure, provide free public transit, and increase access to child care. I also introduced the proposal both as a potential constitutional amendment, which would allow voters to make the change permanent if approved.
The wealthiest residents can and should contribute a little more, so the state can make meaningful investments without raising taxes on working families that are struggling to make ends meet.
Please watch my comments at the press conference in the video below.
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