Governor Ned Lamont and lawmakers who want to balance the budget before the June deadline got some good news on Monday.
The Connecticut tax commissioner said state income tax revenues are coming in strong this year.
Scott Jackson, commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Revenue Services, says the department is receiving state income tax returns at a higher rate than they did in 2016. That year brought in $9.6 billion – the second highest in history.
“Sales tax is a little bit off, but we are tracking above tax year 2016 numbers, which is one of our last good benchmarks.”
Jackson spoke during a Lamont administration cabinet meeting in Hartford.
Governor Lamont assured taxpayers he would not spend the surplus to balance the budget.
“You do not use one-shot surpluses to pay for ongoing operating expenses. No business would ever do that, and where the state of Connecticut maybe has done that in the past, we are not going to do that.”
Connecticut saw $10.7 billion in income tax revenue last year – the highest in history. But it was not a normal year because of a one-time amnesty program.
