HARTFORD, Conn. — Wednesday, Gov. Ned Lamont introduced a plan to cut taxes for local businesses by restoring the state’s pass-through entity tax credit for business owners.
He says this would impact upward of 123,000 businesses in the state and could save them as much as $60 million a year collectively.
“It's been a renaissance for small business over the last couple of years,” Lamont said. “We got to keep that going.”
“We want people to feel this at tax time and realize that we're helping them out,” said Alexandra Daum, commissioner designate of the Department of Economic and Community Development. “The proof is in the pudding with folks coming here and wanting to start a business. And this is just one more thing to get that much better.”
The tax credit acts as a mechanism to help small business owners avoid federal deduction limits, but this isn’t a new credit.
Connecticut was the first state in the nation to implement something like this, originally passed in 2018, but soon after the state legislature reduced the tax credit by about 5%.
Wednesday’s proposal would restore the credit to its full amount.
“We're making it now whole again, simplifying your taxes, reducing your taxes going forward and we're just getting started,” Lamont said.
This proposal is welcome news to both sides of the aisle in the state legislature.
“I'm thrilled the governor is looking at this,” House Minority Leader Rep. Vincent Candelora said.
Candelora added it’s good the governor is leading this conversation and says he expects little opposition to this proposal.
“Now that we're seeing the revenue come back, it's nice to restore those promises,” he continued. “It's not a tax credit really for the wealthy. It really impacts middle-class business owners and I think it'll be appreciated statewide by those individuals.”
Wednesday’s announcement is the first in a series of tax proposals Lamont plans to introduce before his full budget presentation in February.
“Connecticut is for the first time in a generation cutting taxes, really cutting taxes across the board, cutting taxes and special emphasis upon working families and middle-class folks,” Lamont said.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.