Time to explore a new property tax system for Connecticut
In an important step forward, CT Voices for Children, a Connecticut based non-profit research institute, recently proposed a plan to reform Connecticut’s outdated property tax system and replace it with one that will reduce the tax burden on middle-income and working families while ensuring all cities and towns have the resources they need to adequately fund Connecticut’s public schools.
Wait, What? readers will recall that Connecticut’s middle-income families pay about 10 percent of their income in state and local taxes, the poor about 12 percent and because the Connecticut tax structure coddles the rich, the state’s wealthiest residents only pay about 5.5 percent of their income in state and local taxes.
The new Connecticut Voices proposal would correct those inequities and provide real property tax relief for 2.7 million residents living in 117 of Connecticut’s 169 communities. At the same time the program would require wealthier residents to start paying their fair share in state and local taxes.
The underlying problem is that Connecticut underfunds its schools by close to $2 billion a year leaving the state’s public schools without the resources they need to provide every child with their constitutionally guaranteed access to a quality education.
The existing system also unfairly burdens the vast majority of local Time to explore a new property tax system for Connecticut - Wait What?:
