Spring Break
Stop Playing Politics With Tax Relief
Editorial
Issue date: 6/11/07 Section: Commentary
The state legislature is in the midst of wrapping up its five month session in the coming days, and while many laws have passed and programs tweaked, the body has managed to play politics with one measure which if passed, could provide actual relief to countless residents across the state.
In the middle of this session, the Republican caucus introduced a measure to suspend the state's 25 cent gasoline tax for the period from Memorial Day to Labor Day, thus moderating gas prices through the peak of the summer driving season. Immediately, this proposal came under fire from the Democratic leadership, and when Republican's attempted to attach the provision to an energy bill with a good chance of being signed by the governor, they were voted down. Since that time, the Democrats have warmed up to the proposal, and attached it to their party's tax package. The governor, of course, vetoed the tax proposal.
Now the Democrats are using the gas tax rollback as a bargaining chip in their negotiations, promising to keep the proposal if the governor makes concessions which allow the Democrats to keep their tax plan in order. All the while, the potential effect of this rollback is slowly slipping away with the passage of the days.
This body had a chance to provide instant, tangible economic relief to the residents of the state, and now that chance has been bogged down in a tax battle fight, with each party hoping the other blinks first. Clearly, the Democrats think the tax break is a good idea, or it wouldn't be in this struggle, but they like it not because it provides relief to state residents, but because it appeases the governor.
There are residents for which this proposal does little good, but there are residents for which this proposal helps immensely. For the summertime working college student, living one year off of three months' income would be easier. For seniors on a fixed income, their dollars would go just a little further. For the single parent driving 20 miles to a job every day, the savings would be enormous. Rather then recognize that this is necessary relief, the Democratic leadership has made it just another political tool. By the time the budget is finally passed, countless days or weeks will have slipped away, and countless extra dollars spent at the pump, when they could have been spent on schoolbooks, medication or in the grocery store. One chance to pass the measure was wasted and due to party politics the chance may have been lost altogether, and its time for the leaders in Hartford to put real relief before political battles and pass this tax break.
In the middle of this session, the Republican caucus introduced a measure to suspend the state's 25 cent gasoline tax for the period from Memorial Day to Labor Day, thus moderating gas prices through the peak of the summer driving season. Immediately, this proposal came under fire from the Democratic leadership, and when Republican's attempted to attach the provision to an energy bill with a good chance of being signed by the governor, they were voted down. Since that time, the Democrats have warmed up to the proposal, and attached it to their party's tax package. The governor, of course, vetoed the tax proposal.
Now the Democrats are using the gas tax rollback as a bargaining chip in their negotiations, promising to keep the proposal if the governor makes concessions which allow the Democrats to keep their tax plan in order. All the while, the potential effect of this rollback is slowly slipping away with the passage of the days.
This body had a chance to provide instant, tangible economic relief to the residents of the state, and now that chance has been bogged down in a tax battle fight, with each party hoping the other blinks first. Clearly, the Democrats think the tax break is a good idea, or it wouldn't be in this struggle, but they like it not because it provides relief to state residents, but because it appeases the governor.
There are residents for which this proposal does little good, but there are residents for which this proposal helps immensely. For the summertime working college student, living one year off of three months' income would be easier. For seniors on a fixed income, their dollars would go just a little further. For the single parent driving 20 miles to a job every day, the savings would be enormous. Rather then recognize that this is necessary relief, the Democratic leadership has made it just another political tool. By the time the budget is finally passed, countless days or weeks will have slipped away, and countless extra dollars spent at the pump, when they could have been spent on schoolbooks, medication or in the grocery store. One chance to pass the measure was wasted and due to party politics the chance may have been lost altogether, and its time for the leaders in Hartford to put real relief before political battles and pass this tax break.
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