Connecticut legislators are getting ready for state budget talks, and one proposed tax cut is getting support from surprising sources. Some Democrats in the General Assembly support repealing the estate tax.
Democrats in both chambers of Connecticut's legislature have introduced bills that would get rid of state taxes on gifts and inheritances.
State Senator Alex Bergstein, who introduced the Senate repeal bill, said this is in keeping with a shift on fiscal issues among Connecticut Democrats.
“Democrats are reframing their narrative, and our policy, and we realize that we need to put the economy and businesses and people’s concerns about taxes at the forefront,” Bergstein said.
Connecticut's gift and estate tax used to apply to any inheritance worth more than $2.6 million. But a recent law raised that threshold by $1 million.
The exemption is on track to increase to the federal level — $11.2 million — by 2020.
Even Democrats who represent districts populated largely by people who likely wouldn’t ever be subject to the estate tax are open to its repeal.
State Rep. Matt Ritter, whose district includes some of Hartford, said he’d be amenable to tossing the estate tax, if it was offset by another stream of revenue.
“If you raise the capital gains rate by 1 percent, it actually pretty much mirrors the amount of revenue the estate is estimated to bring into Connecticut for the next fiscal year,” Ritter said. “So, I would entertain that idea.”
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