Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and state lawmakers would have enough revenue to balance the state’s next budget without raising taxes.
The governor’s budget office and the Legislature’s non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis projects that Connecticut revenues will increase by nearly $1.7 billion in the next two years. That’s enough to wipe out this fiscal year’s budget deficit and put a dent on the deficits projected for the next two fiscal years.
Democratic Senate President Martin Looney said the boost comes from returns from windfall earnings on Wall Street, even though they are not a very reliable source of income.
“The consensus revenue figure that really counts is the one that is released in April. When we are actually working on trying to get a budget done. That is the one where the numbers would be critical to show whether they continue the trends or whether some other trends are operating by then,” Looney said.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly also called for caution. He said many small businesses in the state have shut their doors, unemployment remains high and Connecticut still has projected deficits in future years.
The governor is expected to present his next two-year state budget plan next month.
