Yankee Institute Blog
Report to governor shows hoped-for efficiencies bogged down by union contracts
A report to Gov. Ned Lamont on potential efficiency savings for Connecticut’s state government found that many of those savings are hindered by government union contracts. The Boston Consulting Group estimates Connecticut could achieve upwards of $1 billion in savings...
Hartford to consider a universal basic income pilot program
The City of Hartford’s Court of Common Council voted in March to create a task force to assess the possibility of a universal basic income pilot program for some of its residents. The task force will study the issue and report their findings to the city council. The...
Study finds Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk a national hotspot for gig workers
A report by the Las-Vegas based Better Cities Project found the Stamford-Bridgeport-Norwalk area to have the fourth largest gig economy of the nation’s major metropolitan areas, with 10.2 percent of the area’s workforce per capita employed in this emerging work-trend....
Property tax cap bill would allow municipalities to levy sales, income taxes
The Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee heard testimony Monday regarding a property tax cap bill that would cap property tax increases at 2.5 percent but allow municipalities to levy a sales or income tax to supplement their revenue. House Bill 6655 put forward by...
Is Connecticut still the richest state in the nation? Barely
Connecticut has for many years been labeled the richest state in the nation because of its highest-in-the-nation per capita income, but that may be rapidly changing according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Massachusetts’ per capita income is now...
Audit shows improper loan forgiveness, excessive tax credits by DECD
The Department of Economic and Community Development, which awards low-interest, forgivable loans and tax credits to businesses, has been all too forgiving and generous, according to a new audit. Loans and tax credits made to small businesses, manufacturing companies...
Environment Committee passes Transportation and Climate Initiative. Could raise gas prices 26 cents per gallon by 2032
The legislature’s Environment Committee today voted 21-11 to pass a bill authorizing Connecticut to participate in the Transportation and Climate Initiative, an multi-state initiative that would require gasoline producers to purchase carbon credits at auction....
Study shows unintended consequences for Connecticut income tax increases
Since its inception in 1991, Connecticut’s income tax has been raised four times, new brackets have been added, and the income tax has become the state’s largest source of revenue, projected to bring in $9.4 billion in fiscal year 2021 alone. But Connecticut’s income...
Revenue Ratchet: Connecticut’s Income Tax At 30
Three decades have passed since the historic budget crisis that culminated in the creation of Connecticut’s personal income tax.The tax was enacted out of desperation: a roaring private sector buoyed a multi-year explosion in state spending, which left state government deep in the red as the economy slowed and tax revenues sank. Connecticut’s income tax experience has been a cautionary tale about increasing the state’s reliance on higher-earners
Lamont proposes needed reboot for state’s IT operations
Governor Lamont has proposed an overdue reorganization of the state’s information technology (IT) employees, which are now scattered across more than 40 agencies. The move, announced last week, will “centralize the...