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State Reps. Dan Carter (R-Danbury and Redding), Jan Giegler (R-Danbury and Ridgefield), Stephen Harding (R-Danbury), and Richard A. Smith (R-Danbury), each discussed the “Republican Blueprint for Prosperity” in a press release.
"The House and Senate Republicans unveiled a budget that immediately eliminates the business entity tax and the corporate surcharge tax in 2017, while restoring funding for our resident state trooper program and providing the safety net for our most vulnerable,” Smith said. “Equally important, the budget requires the governor to adhere to the ‘shared sacrifice’ deal he structured with the public unions and impose reforms to implement savings in the amount of $251 million. This common sense restructuring of government spending is indeed our blueprint to prosperity for Connecticut.”
The GOP’s proposal is balanced, restores important social services for people truly in need and institutes other major reforms without raising taxes, according to the press release.
“The plan presented … while not perfect, is a good foundation for getting Connecticut back on sound financial ground,” Giegler said. “Restoring funds to mental health providers and services, Husky A and programs for seniors and veterans is the right thing to do and I’m proud we were able to do that without raising taxes. However, I am concerned with the potential affect to Danbury Hospital and remain committed to finding workable solutions that benefit everyone.”
The proposed spending plan would be under the cap by $218.2 million in fiscal year 2016, and under the cap by $154.6 million in fiscal year 2017, according to the blueprint.
“Obviously this blueprint proves that we can create a budget that doesn’t rely solely on creating new revenue,” Carter said. “With that said, there are still many hours of work yet to do to balance our priorities and produce a budget that works for the people of Connecticut.”
Harding said he supports the budget proposed.
“I look forward to working with my leadership in addressing some of my concerns regarding the vital resources in our district, such as reducing the tax on Danbury and New Milford hospitals and funding our local schools,” he said.
For more information, visit the GOP’s Blueprint for Prosperity website.
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