Journal Inquirer: DeStefano Proposes Tax Freeze For Ages 65 & Up

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Journal Inquirer: DeStefano Proposes Tax Freeze For Ages 65 & Up

The Manchester Journal Inquirer

By Keith M. Phaneuf

Democratic gubernatorial contender John DeStefano Jr. called Monday for a statewide freeze on property-tax rates for low- and middle-income residents age 65 and older.

To pay for it, the New Haven mayor revived a popular proposal among Democrats in the legislature in recent years: a state income-tax hike on millionaires.

"As property values skyrocket in the state and local government becomes increasingly reliant on the property tax, our senior citizens are getting squeezed and many risk losing their homes," DeStefano said.

"I believe that no senior citizen should have to sell their home to cover basic costs of living, or be forced to make horrible choices about whether to pay for their taxes, utilities, or food. The senior years should be ones of security which reflect the respect that we should all have for the hard work done by our senior citizens."

The DeStefano plan would affect property owners age 65 and older. Couples earning less than $54,000 annually and individuals earning less than $46,000 would be eligible to have their local tax rate frozen at 2006 levels. Income limits would be adjusted annually to reflect inflation.

DeStefano says his plan would reimburse cities and towns for 100 percent of the property taxes lost.

Citing a 2003 state legislative research report on Connecticut's elderly population and its income levels, DeStefano estimates his plan would benefit approximately two-thirds of the state's elderly homeowners, involving about 150,000 households.

According to the campaign, the program would cost about $24 million annually once fully implemented.

The DeStefano plan also calls for the state's 5 percent income tax rate to climb to 6 percent on household income above $1 million.

Legislative fiscal analysts estimated that similar proposals raised in the General Assembly during the early part of this decade would raise more than $100 million.

DeStefano spokesman Derek Slap said that while a millionaires tax would raise more revenue than is needed to pay for the property-tax freeze, the campaign will unveil other proposals to make the overall tax system fairer and " provide relief to working families."

DeStefano's plan came under fire early today from his gubernatorial rivals. DeStefano faces Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy in an Aug. 8 gubernatorial primary, with the winner challenging Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell in the November election.

"What we crave is something comprehensive" to address a burdensome property-tax system, Malloy campaign spokeswoman Lisa-Joy Zgorski said.

"It's stifling economic growth, it's costing Connecticut jobs" and hinders efforts to provide universal health care, she added. "Seniors are strapped financially, but so are working families with children. What's essential is not a piecemeal approach, not pandering to one constituent group."

Rell opposes any increases in state income-tax rates, and her campaign spokesman, Rich Harris said DeStefano "apparently doesn't believe there is a problem in the state of Connecticut that a tax increase isn't the solution for."

"The broader question is: How do you really achieve property tax reform?" Harris said, adding that had the legislature approved the governor's proposal this year to repeal property taxes on noncommercial motor vehicles, thousands of households would be finding relief in their checkbooks this month.