From Susan Kniep, President
The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.
Website: http://ctact.org/
email: fctopresident@ctact.org
860-524-6501
July 17, 2006
WELCOME TO THE 83rd EDITION OF
TAX TALK
Contained in Tax Talk 83:
- Candidates for Public Office
- Governor Rell
Tackles Energy Prices
- Donna McCalla’s
Update on CT Tax Increase
Comparisons spreadsheet update
- Parents sue to remove kids
from failing N.J. schools
- The People’s Republic of CT
- Court decision riles
anti-eminent domain rally
- Could the Probate Court Rob you of
your Rights? Absolutely!
- Rights groups sue Pennsylvania town on immigrant law
They are off and running …..
CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE IN NOVEMBER
2006
In June, the Federation issued the following message: Although FCTO does not endorse candidates, we
do encourage all Americans to become involved in the electoral process whether
it is running for public office or simply voting. If you are
running for public office, please send to us at fctopresident@ctact.org information to include your name, your town, the office you are
seeking, your website and/or email address, and the three most
important things you hope to accomplish if elected to office. If you know someone
running for office, suggest they forward this information to us. We will include the information in upcoming Tax
Talk publications.
The following is what FCTO has received to date. We invite our readers to visit the
candidates’ websites as we encourage all candidates for public office to
provide us with similar information which we will include in our Tax Talk
publications.
Name: Scott Merrell
Office
that I am seeking: Governor of
Connecticut
Website: http://www.independentpartyct.com
Email
address: webmaster@independentpartyct.com
The three
most important things that I hope to accomplish if elected to office:
1) PROPERTY TAX
REFORM TO END REVALUATION AND HIGH PROPERTY TAXES: Property owners throughout Connecticut are being taxed out of their
homes. They are forced to pay high
property taxes on the unrealized capital gains of their homes even though they
have not sold them. Upon my election as
Governor, I will develop a property tax system on which property owners pay on
the actual value of their homes established at the time of sale, similar to the
California
Proposition 13 Tax Structure. Also, the Citizens of our State deserve
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM,
the right to collect signatures on a petition to have their
concerns placed before the voters. Upon
my election as Governor, I will work for a Constitutional Convention to
allow for Initiative and Referendum.
2) END EMINENT DOMAIN: Governor Rell made
her position clear on the Eminent Domain issue when this June she issued a
letter to the Mayor New London stipulating that the people who challenged
Eminent Domain would have to be removed from their property. Upon my election as Governor, I will lead our
State to true Eminent Domain reform wherein no homeowner or business owner will
be forced to relinquish their property to private developers.
3) SOUND FISCAL POLICIES FOR CONNECTICUT: Connecticut
taxpayers pay the highest taxes in the nation.
They also are burdened with the highest per capita bonded debt which
will be passed down to their children for years to come ($16 Billion). Upon my
election as Governor, I will initiate sound fiscal policies to reduce
government spending. This will include,
but not be limited to, investigating the millions of dollars the State is
writing off as being uncollectible. I
will end the quid-pro-quo politics which has resulted in millions of taxpayer
dollars being given to businesses with no benefit returning to State
taxpayers. I will end the corruption in
our State government through a reward system in which those who suspect
corruption and report it, will be financially rewarded
upon the conviction of those who steal from the public. I will initiate an audit system of the
billions of tax dollars given to nonprofits which are not under the State’s
control. I will establish ethical
standards in our State government wherein those who work for quasi public
agencies will be prohibited from being paid with state taxpayer dollars, and
most importantly, I will work closely with the Federal government to cleanse
our State of the corruption which myself and others believe still exists.
*********
The following are the websites of the other
candidates for Governor which we are aware of.
If they provide us with further information we will include in future
Tax Talk publications.
Jodi Rell: http://www.jodirell06.com/
John DeStefano: http://www.destefanoforct.com/
Dan Malloy: http://www.danmalloy.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cndProfile
************
Name: Judy Aron
Town: West Hartford
Office
that I am seeking: State Representative
(18th District)
Website: www.aron2006.com
Email address:
aron2006@sbcglobal.net
The three
most important things that I hope to accomplish if elected to office:
1)
Legislation to protect property owners from eminent domain abuse.
This has to be addressed immediately, and other states have already done this.
2) Lower
taxes - We have an enormous budget surplus ($910+ million) - proving that
we are overtaxed. In general, I will not support any
initiative that raises taxes. We need to make programs self sustainable,
so for example I would support an initiative that made funding our
transportation projects solely from taxes on fuel and the transportation
sector. Money keeps going into our general fund which should be earmarked
for specific programs, but it ends up being spent on other things. Money
originally earmarked for education (like the lottery revenue) apparently does
not get spent on education. We have an education funding plan that
is unfair and needs to be fixed. Also, I'd like to see tax incentives to
bring companies to CT that will encourage and promote alternative energy use
(like biofuel and ethanol stations) creating an real alternative energy sector. I would advocate
for a comprehensive CT alternative energy plan that includes new
business, more jobs, and less dependence on foreign oil. Just giving
consumers incentives to buy hybrid cars is not enough (ie.
The Clean Car Bill).
3)
Legislation which would uphold federal laws
regarding illegal aliens. I would want to enforce current
laws in CT regarding illegal aliens. I believe that voter registration
procedures should be changed so that when registering to vote one must produce
proof of citizenship. I believe businesses should be monitored and
fined if they hire illegal aliens. I don't believe in
enabling illegal aliens and contributing to the creation of an underclass
which works in substandard conditions and for less pay and benefits.
I don't think we ought to be providing free college tuition or other
benefits with taxpayer money because it only makes CT a more attractive
place for illegal aliens.
I won't
waste my time, or the legislature's time, on "feel good
legislation". I will be diligent in getting real priority issues
addressed. There are other issues that I am also very concerned about,
like the growing critical nursing shortage, and the liabilities caused by
not fully funding pension plans, and the erosion of the control that
municipalities have over their own budget expenditures because of unfunded
mandates and binding arbitration. I hope that your readers will
support my campaign.
Best, Judy
Aron, Candidate for State Representative, 18th
District
********
Robert Green, rgreen619@snet.net
FCTO Board Member
Salem Board of
Education
Subject: Governor Rell Tackles Energy Prices
July 17, 2006
Governor Rell
Tackles Energy Prices;
Emphasis on Biodiesel,
Other Renewable Forms of Energy
Preparing Tax-Cut and Other Proposals for
Possible Special Legislative Session
Governor M. Jodi Rell, frustrated
by the lack of progress toward a national energy policy and increasingly
concerned by the escalating cost of all forms of energy for families and
businesses, today announced that she will propose a series of short- and longer
range steps to ease the burden on Connecticut
consumers. “We are in the midst of a
severe heat wave that is taxing everyone,” Governor Rell
said. “Demand for electricity and gasoline is at its peak right now and Connecticut citizens and
taxpayers are looking for relief. I want to give it to them. “I have repeatedly called on our leaders in Washington to get
serious about a national energy policy. Unfortunately, they seem unable or
unwilling to do anything of substance that will help citizens and businesses
cope with escalating, unaffordable prices,” the Governor said. “In addition,
the increasing violence in the Middle East
will drive oil prices even higher.
“There are some steps we can take at the state level to try to ease the
burden and I am working to develop realistic proposals that we can implement
quickly.” Governor Rell
said she would share her proposals with the legislative leadership and said she
would support a special session of the General Assembly to take action. She
noted that the leadership has been holding “energy summits” since the regular
session adjourned in May.
Among the concepts for which the Governor is putting
together proposals are:
· Rolling back the gross
receipts tax on gasoline and other petroleum products to reduce prices at the
pumps
· The elimination of
“zone pricing” for gasoline in Connecticut
for at least two years (the General Assembly would have to re-institute zone
pricing after a specific period, if it so chose)
· An immediate 25 percent cut
in the tax on utility consumption
· Subsidies or other
incentives for Connecticut
farmers to grow crops that can be used in ethanol, biodiesel
or other renewable energy sources
· A financing package to
encourage the establishment of ethanol producing plants in the state.
Governor Rell recently convened a
working group to explore ways to further the production and use of ethanol and
other renewable sources of energy. This group includes the Office of Policy and
Management, the Department of Administrative Services and the Department of
Agriculture. The Governor said she would
have recommendations for new energy initiatives within two weeks. She noted that she has already committed $1
million to make state agencies more energy efficient, that the state has
recently purchased dozens of hybrid vehicles and will continue to do so, and
that a new Energy Division within the Office of Policy and Management has been
established. “I am working on creative
ideas that will truly help our citizens and businesses at a time when they need
it the most,” Governor Rell said. “It is especially
important that we give additional emphasis to renewable sources of energy –
like ethanol – that will protect consumers and benefit everyone for years to
come. “I am confident that the
legislative leadership, which is now discussing some of these issues, will be
receptive to proposals that all of us can embrace,” Governor Rell concluded.
****************
Donna McCalla, ctjodi@sbcglobal.net
Hebron Dollars and Sense
Subject: CT Tax Increase Comparisons spreadsheet
update
July 17, 2006
Hi, all. Attached
please find the updated CT Tax Increase Comparisons spreadsheet for FY
2006-07. I am also attaching a new
spreadsheet showing the history of towns seeing multiple referenda this
year. There are still eight towns for which
we have no information, other than we know they have passed their budgets.
Of Connecticut’s
17 regional school districts, 16 have passed their budget. Region 10 faces its fifth referendum on
7/25. Of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities, 162 have
passed their budgets for FY 2006-07. The
remaining seven with unapproved budgets are:
Brooklyn (facing third vote on 7/20), East Hampton (facing fourth vote
on 7/18), Lisbon (facing second vote; date unknown), Oxford (facing third vote
on 7/26), Sherman (facing fourth vote; date not set yet), Stafford (facing
fifth vote; date not set yet), and Winsted (facing second vote on 7/25).
There have been a total of 80 budgets defeated this year
(that number includes multiple referenda); at exactly this time last year,
there had been 81 budget defeats, with 8 budgets remaining unapproved. This year’s results would appear in line with
last year, except that this year’s average approved tax increase (4.03%)
is significantly lower than last year’s average approved tax increase at this
point in time (4.31%). This probably
explains why there haven’t been more budget defeats. Average general government spending increases
for approved budgets currently stands at 4.89%; average education spending for
approved budgets is 5.29%.
My thanks to Bill Generous of Windsor, an expert in
analyzing towns undergoing revaluations. He has
provided much new data on reval-adjusted mill rates,
grand list growth, and average tax increases for residents in towns seeing
revaluation hit this year regardless of the “effective” tax increase. My thanks also to many of you who have provided corrections or
confirmation of data in the spreadsheet.
Donna
To access Donna’s spreadsheet click on the following: http://www.hebrondollarsandsense.com/files06/CT%20Tax%20Increase%20Comparisons%202006-07%20v5.xls
****************
Parents sue to remove kids from failing N.J. schools http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5NjA5ODcmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky
****************
Leigh Standish, leighstandish@sbcglobal.net
Wethersfield Taxpayers
Association
Subject: The People's Republic of CT?
July 17, 2006
OUCH! Where does this sound like? Think: corruption;
public-private
partnerships; regionalism; eminent domain...
"In Russia
today, there are two sides, two countries. One is a country of bureaucracy, the
disregard of law, a country of lawlessness, of backwardness and non-freedom.
The authorities are on that side and they are terrorizing the other country,
the country of citizens," said Andrei Illarionov,
Putin's former economic adviser.
The aforementioned is from the following article …. Putin Rips Cheney's Verbal 'Hunting Shot' By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press Writer
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUSSIA_US?SITE=VACHA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
****************
Court
decision riles anti-eminent domain rally
Atlanticville - Long Branch,NJ,USA
... from the city
and towns across the state gathered on the Long Branch oceanfront Friday evening to call
attention to their fight against eminent
domain abuse. ...
See
all stories on this topic
************
COULD THE PROBATE COURT ROB YOU OF YOUR RIGHTS? ABSOLUTELY!
READ ON…..
Wrenching Story Ends With Justice
Rick Green, Hartford Courant, July 14 2006
I could go on about the travesty that left Daniel Gross - an 86-year-old New York man with no legal connection to Connecticut - locked in a Waterbury nursing home for 10 months, his
freedom stolen in the courtroom of Waterbury Probate Judge Thomas Brunnock.
Gross's shameful ordeal is a powerful lesson for our state legislators and
governor, who are unwilling to demand reform of Connecticut's shoddy probate court system.
But Gross is now a free man. I prefer the words of the
Superior Court judge who ordered Gross freed at an emotional hearing in Waterbury Wednesday.
"A terrible miscarriage of justice has happened here," Judge Joseph Gormley told the courtroom as Brunnock
and the lawyers who worked on the old man's behalf hung their heads.
What happened was Gross, ailing and living alone on Long Island, came to visit
his daughter in Waterbury
last summer. He was hospitalized in August, suffering from cellulitis,
as his children bickered over his care and who should control his money.
With Gross increasingly uncooperative, the hospital asked probate court to step
in. His children agreed. Within days, Brunnock
approved handing control of Gross's life to a court-appointed conservator.
Gross didn't want a conservator and wasn't even at the probate court hearing at
which a conservator was named.
"This case has disturbed me from day one. I kept looking for evidence to
support what was done, but I find none," said Gormley,
who freed Gross on a writ of habeas corpus, terminating the conservatorship.
Gormley had strong words for Gross's court-appointed
lawyer, Jonathan Newman. Last September Newman urged Brunnock
to name a conservator for Gross, taking away his freedom and control over his
finances.
"It is obvious to me he grossly underrepresented and misrepresented Mr.
Gross," Gormley told the court as Gross looked
on. The ruling removes Newman, and Kathleen Donovan, his conservator, from
Gross's life. Newman was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Gormley said he was mystified how Brunnock
thought his court - which covers Waterbury,
Wolcott and Middlebury - had jurisdiction over the estate of a New York man visiting
his daughter. He likened it to the absurd notion of forcing visitors to the
state to pay income taxes merely because they spent a few days here.
Mr. Gross's plight is yet another reason to doubt the probate courts. It is a
system in which prospective judges with close ties to the local legal community
win office through election, their campaign coffers stuffed with contributions
from lawyers and political insiders. No legal training is required to be a
probate judge. Procedures can vary widely from district to district.
I wonder how many other Daniel Grosses there are, ones whose lives are buried
in the backslapping underworld of probate court.
Were it not for two volunteer lawyers, John Peters of West Hartford and
Veronica Halpine of Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Gross
might still be in Grove Manor Nursing Home. His house, approved for sale by Brunnock, might have been sold, and an old man forever
lost.
Ambling out of Wednesday's hearing with a walker, Gross said he couldn't wait
to return to Long Island, where he will now
live with his daughter Carolyn's assistance.
"I am overwhelmed with happiness," he said.
So am I.
Rick Green's column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at rgreen@courant.com
***********
Rights
groups sue Pennylvania town on immigrant law July 14, 2006 - The city
council of Hazleton,
a former coal-mining town of some 31,000 people, late on Thursday passed a
measure that will deny a business permit to anyone hiring illegal
immigrants. It also imposes a $1,000
fine on any landlord who rents to illegal immigrants, and establishes English
as the town's official language. http://today.reuters.com/news/ArticleNews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-07-14T225457Z_01_N1470430_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-IMMIGRATION.xml
********