New Discussion of Business Taxes

Governor Malloy has announced that he's going to meet on the budget and taxes, and that everything is on the table except tax increases.  Even the fact that he's framed it this way should help our business climate.  For too long, people have been pointing to Connecticut as the state that wants to drive corporations and jobs out.  The legislature has often called for business to pay more, even though we are already more expensive than many other states.  Now, finally, maybe thanks to GE threatening (or intending, many posit) to move its headquarters, we're getting somewhere.  Hey guys, we are important to you--you should be nice to us!

CT's Business Climate

We held our Pearce Annual Meeting today on the campus of Choate Rosemary Hall, and heard from George Jepsen, Connecticut's Attorney General. He received a number of tough questions from the audience, mostly about the business and tax climate in the State. He gave us assurances that Governor Malloy understands what needs to be done to create jobs and attract firms to locate here. He also believes that one of the region's most important resources--Tweed New Haven Airport--has support in Hartford, so that we may see improvement in air service. We discussed the estate tax, which he agrees is driving many wealthy older residents to take up legal residence elsewhere. Attorney General Jepsen spoke about the need for lowering energy costs, and for reducing the amount and complexity of State regulation for businesses. Let's keep our fingers crossed....