Governor Dannel Malloy presented his budget to the legislature today. In it is at least one item intended to be attractive to the state's taxpayers. As WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, Malloy wants to exempt most cars from the property tax.
Connecticut residents pay taxes based on the value of their cars, and they pay them to the town where the vehicle is registered.
Malloy says this system has been historically unfair. So here's how he wants to address it.
"Today, I am proposing that we exempt the vast majority of Connecticut's motor vehicles from the property tax."
Under Malloy's plan, owners of vehicles that are worth less than $28,500 will pay no taxes on them. He says that amounts to about 90 percent of all of the state's vehicles. It would go into full effect in July 2014.
Malloy, a Democrat, told lawmakers his budget holds towns and cities harmless. But even some fellow Democrats are skeptical.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch says losing the car tax will cost his city an estimated $17 million. He warned of "disastrous consequences" if this and other cuts to towns and cities are passed, and called it "potentially one of the largest local tax increases ever as the state tax burden shifts to our residents."
For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.
Jeff Cohen started in newspapers in 2001 and joined Connecticut Public in 2010, where he worked as a reporter and fill-in host. In 2017, he was named news director. Then, in 2022, he became a senior enterprise reporter.
