Finance package offers mixed bag of tax hikes

From CT News Junkie.

The Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee is proposing increasing revenues by $1.01 billion in 2020 and $1.33 billion in 2021, but the tax package the committee is hoping to adopt Wednesday doesn’t accept all of Gov. Ned Lamont’s suggestions.

The committee, which eventually passed the package 29-21, rejected some of Lamont’s efforts to broaden the sales tax base by eliminating existing exemptions. The committee instead proposes to limit Lamont’s list to removing the exemptions on interior design services, except when purchased by a business for use by such business; specified parking services; transportation network company services like Uber and Lyft; safety apparel; and dry cleaning and laundry services, excluding coin-operated services.”

The committee also proposes to keep the sales tax exemption on the accounting and legal services industries, which lobbied against a sales tax for their services.

However, the committee would increase from 6.35% to 7.35% the sales tax on prepared meals sold by restaurants, caterers, or grocery stores. It also would increase the sales tax on liquors, soft drinks, sodas, and beverages sold in connection with those meals.

See the complete article from CT News Junkie online.