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Thank you.
January 16, 2012
From The Federation of Connecticut
Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.
Contact Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
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States look to hike tax on millionaires
***************
Hold State Legislators Accountable for Property Tax
Increases!
Will State Legislators continue to put the Interests of Public
Employee Unions above the Interests of Connecticut
Taxpayers?
A relevant question as we debate 2012-2013 Municipal Budgets with
Guaranteed Property Tax Increases for the Majority of Connecticuts 169 Towns!
State Legislators
hold the key to property tax increases.
Not only do towns rely upon State aid to offset
their budget expenses, but State Legislators
make the laws which drive local property tax increases. Approximately 85% of our property taxes pay
for Town and Board of Education personnel related expenses to include salaries,
pensions and healthcare. State
legislators have refused to reform Collective Bargaining Laws which usurp the
decisions which should be made by our local elected officials relating
to town budgets, expenses and personnel.
As the 2012 election approaches, ask your State Legislators if they
intent to continue to put the interests of public employee unions above your
own. Because every dollar the State
legislature puts in the pocket of public sector employees is taken out of yours,
the taxpayer!
If you want to stop the flow of money from your pocket to
theirs, consider presenting the following
Resolution, or a facsimile thereof, to
your local legislative body for approval and request they in turn forward the
executed Resolution to your towns state legislators as you begin the 2012-2013
Municipal and Board of Education budget process in your town.
RESOLUTION TO REFORM STATE OF CONNECTICUT COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING LAWS
****************
As Connecticut taxpayers
are faced with $1.5 billion in new taxes, Connecticut State
employees can look forward to a 9% wage increase and four year job
guarantee. But they want more -
specifically $93 million more and they are going through the courts to get it
as the following describes
Judge: State Employees' Class Action Suit Against Anthem Can Proceed - $93M In Compensation Sought For 30,000
Workers, Retirees.
A relevant question is What were State Employees Paying for their healthcare 10 years ago versus the costs
passed on to taxpayers. In 2010, the
Federation published the following. CONNECTICUT STATE TAXPAYERS
ARE PAYING OVER $5 BILLION FOR HEALTHCARE IN 2009.
As we seek more current figures, the State has published on its website current employee
healthcare policy costs vs those paid by the State;
i.e. the taxpayer. You may have limited healthcare coverage or
none at all, but your taxes are paying for a lucrative healthcare system for
our state employees you will be shocked to learn how much you are paying
versus what the state employee is paying check it out at
.. http://www.osc.ct.gov/empret/healthin/2011hcplan/ActiveBiWeeklyMed-RxRates2011-2012.pdf.
The State has also published through its new transparency
website the wages and pensions of State employees which can be found at transparency.CT.gov.
****************
****The
State of the State****
Read the article: Ten States That Cannot Pay Their Bills
Connecticut is on this list! Check it out!
Check the List: Read: Ten States That Cannot Pay Their Bills
State used borrowed funds to meet expenses
Ed Jacovino
- Journal Inquirer
****************
Immigration courtrooms silent during ICE review By P. SOLOMON BANDA
Jan 16, 2012 DENVER (AP) - In a trial of a politically divisive program, U.S.
prosecutors in Denver and Baltimore are reviewing thousands of deportation
cases to determine which illegal immigrants might stay in the country - perhaps
indefinitely - so officials can reduce an overwhelming backlog by focusing mainly
on detainees with criminal backgrounds or who are deemed threats to national
security. Federal deportation hearings for non-criminal defendants released
from custody were suspended Dec. 5 for the review and resume this week. Similar
reviews are planned across the country to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement to target deportations of illegal immigrants with criminal records
or those who have been deported previously. Continued at
. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DEPORTATIONS_SUSPENDED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-01-16-10-56-47
****************
New Britain Raising Money For
Memorial Day Parade - Courant.com
****************
******************
Despite Past
Failures, Fed Looks To Print More Money
******************
******************
State
Employee Pensions of $100,000 and More
http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\PensionNew.xls
From the State
Transparency Website: In 2010, payments were made to 41,950 retirees or
beneficiaries totaling over $1.26 billion. Additionally, the State administers
the Alternate Retirement Program (ARP), a defined contribution program for some
higher education employees.
For additional
information on state administered pension plans go to the following web link http://transparency.ct.gov/html/pensionOverview.asp
******************
Check out
. 10 Worst States to Retire
In: They're Frosty and Costly
Connecticut is Number 1
TopRetirements.com has named the 10 worst states in which to retire,
based in factors such as taxes and climate. Every retirement is unique, but
before you end up living out your golden years chilly and underfunded,
check out this list. Continued at
..
http://www.topretirements.com/blog/great-towns/worst-states-to-retire-2012-northeast-and-midwest-come-up-losers.html/
******************
Education
Week grades the Nutmeg state By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas on January
13, 2012 Connecticut has one of the worst grades for holding their
schools accountable, earning a 60 percent. While most states provide rewards to high-performing or
improving schools, Connecticut
does not. The state also lags behind most states in providing assistance and
having state sanctions for low-performing schools. The report also says that in
addition to the state's falling short on evaluating teachers, it also fails to
evaluate teacher preparation programs and check up on how their graduates
perform in the classroom. The state also lacks incentives to get teachers into
high-need schools. Here is the link to a snapshot of how the state is doing. The complete report on Connecticut
is available here behind a pay wall. The state's overall grade is a C+, ranking
Connecticut 16th best system in the country by Education Weeks Standards Continued at
..
http://www.ctmirror.org/node/15048
******************
NJ school funding reform key to ending property tax hikes
The Star-Ledger
- NJ.com (blog)
Sunday, January 15, 2012, 6:16 AM
******************
Feds Need to Be Involved in
State Pension Crisis Says New Report by US Sen. Orrin Hatch (blog - Steve Malanga / Public
Sector Inc.)
******************
Pardon Our Skepticism on Obama's Gov't Reorganization Plans IBD
Businesses Need Relief From Obama, Not Gov't
Reorghttp://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/16/businesses_need_relief_from_obama_not_govt_reorg_99464.html
******************
DECD 'launches broad new
marketing initiative' Thu, 01/12/2012 - 5:23pm By Mark
Pazniokas CTMirror.org
A two-year, $22 million marketing campaign to establish a
"brand" for Connecticut is something important to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, but the Department of Economic and
Community Development chose to "launch" the effort with a
late-in-the-day email blast to reporters today.
The campaign will led by Chowder
Inc., a New York
ad agency 'specializing in destination marketing and advertising."
Their clients include the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and the
NFL, as well as a Connecticut
financial institution, People's United Bank.
Other members of the team are Fleishman-Hillard, a global
public relations company based in St. Louis, and
Media Storm of Norwalk and The Harrision Group, a
marketing firm based in Waterbury Full Report at
.. http://www.ctmirror.org/node/15035
******************
Examples of
Public Corruption Investigations - Fiscal Year 2010
http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=213778,00.html
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Check out previous Tax Talk Publications at
http://ctact.org/