General Electric has called the tentative Connecticut budget deal reached over the weekend "discouraging," and says it’s considering whether to remain located in the state. The corporation is concerned about new taxes.
It’s rare for a company of GE’s size to get involved in a state level budget fight, but the GE is headquartered in Fairfield, and between its various divisions has 5,700 workers in the state. It would be affected by a plan to institute a new "unitary" tax on corporations that do business in several states. Legislators say it's a way to close corporate tax loopholes.
In a statement issued Monday, the corporation says "retroactively raising taxes again on Connecticut’s residents, businesses and services makes businesses, including our own, seriously consider whether it makes any sense to continue to be located in this state."
Meanwhile, other businesses are rather happier with the compromise that emerged in talks between the governor’s office and senior legislators. The original proposal would have extended the sales tax to a new raft of services, such as veterinary care and accounting; that’s been scaled back to include only computer and data services.
Dr Arnold Goldman has a veterinary practice in Kent. “We’re certainly pleased that the legislature has found another way to deal with the revenue issues of the state," he told WNPR, "and that they didn’t choose to burden a form of healthcare that for at least 60 percent of the population is very important.”
The CBIA meanwhile called on legislators to reject the budget deal, saying it makes the state less competitive.
