By Edward Dadakis
There they go again. Hartford Democrats are again coming after Greenwich residents in an effort to impose yet another brand new tax. This time they want to create a statewide property tax.
This brand new tax would be in addition to the current town wide property tax. But the Democrats have a catch. They’ve manipulated their new tax so it would apply mostly to residents in Greenwich and other Fairfield County towns leaving the rest of Connecticut mostly tax free. Now is that fair?
Democrat’s taxation policies have been a disaster for Connecticut. Almost all of Connecticut’s fiscal heath metrics, analyzed by independent organizations, show it among the worst of the 50 states. And its no wonder.
As Democrats raised taxes Connecticut’s highest earners have fled the state resulting in less overall revenue. This situation will only deteriorate in a post-pandemic world where many people have the freedom to work anywhere. So why would Democrats want to entice residents to move to a low tax state?
Yet Democrats are salivating for this new tax and its not the first time. I’ve written about their previous efforts. They first proposed a statewide property tax about 5 years ago using a mill rate of 10. Had that passed Greenwich property taxes would have doubled. A couple of years later they proposed one with a mill rate of 5 applicable to undefined vacation and second homes.
This latest version, courtesy of New Haven Democrat Martin “Looney Tunes” Looney, is for a mill rate of 1 and he’s named it a “Mansion Tax”. After all, how can anyone not support taxing those nasty mansions. But the truth is far different. Under Looney’s proposal any house valued less than $430,000 would be exempt from paying this tax.
Mr Looney’s family house in New Haven is 1,753 square feet and according to the assessor is valued at $160,000. So Mr. Looney would pay zero tax based on his proposal which makes some sense since Looney doesn’t live in a mansion. But its not just Looney, very few of his constituents would pay the tax either.
When I reviewed Realtor.com listings in New Haven there were 101 single family listings and only six were over $430,000. In fact the very first one shown at the that price was 4,790 square feet. Now that is a mansion. But, alas, in “Looney Tunes” world those mansion dwellers would pay none of the Looney “mansion tax.”
Now take Greenwich. That same web site had 368 listings and only 9 were under $430,000. One that was over $430,000 was a studio condo of 545 square feet. That according to Looney is a “mansion” and those owners would pay his “mansion tax.” Numerous people in Fairfield County with homes the size of Looney’s (1,753 square feet or smaller) would pay the tax, but Looney has made certain to exempt himself. Don’t you love the reasoning of Democrats.
The Fairfield County Business Journal reported that Fairfield County homeowners would pay 75% of the new tax with Greenwich homeowners paying almost 30%. Yet homeowners in Looney’s New Haven will pay almost nothing. Does that sound fair to you?
Don’t think for a second Democrats will stop at a mill rate of 1. They’re desperate to get the tax in place. Once passed, they will continue to raise it year after year after year to achieve their ultimate goal of doubling Greenwich homeowner’s property taxes and redistributing those funds to the terribly mismanaged cities in Connecticut all run by—you guessed it—Democrats.
How much are Greenwich taxpayers expected to pay for Democrats mismanagement of Connecticut’s fiscal health? After all, Greenwich residents pay the most income tax of any town in the state.
According to 2018 data Greenwich residents sent $693 million in personal income taxes to Hartford double that of the next town, Stamford. Greenwich taxpayers paid almost 10% of the total income tax receipts and seven times more then Looney’s constituents in New Haven. So Greenwich pays more then its fair share. Does it make sense to force them to pay more? Of course not because that would only force more of our townsfolk to flee to low tax states.
Governor Lamont has not supported the “Looney Tunes” plan. Greenwich’s Democrat legislators have been silent.
There is no doubt Connecticut needs solutions to its fiscal crisis. But it must start with reducing spending, renegotiating pensions and right-sizing our massively bloated state government. Raising taxes will only exacerbate the fiscal crisis.
Elections have consequences. Democrats have proven this as they increase taxes, create brand new taxes and spend with wild abandon. When you vote for a Democrat for the Connecticut legislature you are supporting this behavior.
Edward Dadakis has served in Greenwich town government for more than 40 years. Follow him on Twitter at Eddie On Watch.
