A new report says Connecticut’s tax system is unfriendly to many caring for dependents.
The advocacy group Connecticut Voices for Children published the report this week.
Nick Defiesta is a fiscal policy fellow with the group. He says Connecticut is one of two states with an income tax that doesn’t adjust its income tax for the cost of caring for a dependent.
"We really think that Connecticut’s tax system should reward instead of penalize families that are caring for kids, caring for seniors, caring for disabled adults," he said.
Defiesta said his group is recommending the state adopt a dependent exemption. The exemption would set aside a specific amount of money for each dependent and shield it from taxes.
Right now, those caring for children can reduce their tax burden through the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit.
Defiesta said his group’s proposal would go beyond the Earned Income Tax Credit in exemptions for children and it would also include an exemption for those caring for an elderly parent or disabled adult.
Kevin Sullivan, Connecticut’s Commissioner of Revenue Services, said the proposal sounds good, but the state would need to find a way to pay for it.
"One way to find that money, if you’re reducing the revenue stream by increasing benefits, is to reduce expenditures. And, obviously, the state’s social service expenditures are tilted to the very same people. So you would not want a circumstance where you give with one hand and take away with the other," he said.
Sullivan said Connecticut already has one of the most generous Earned Income Tax Credits in the country.
