Instead of promised tax relief, many drivers in Connecticut were hit with higher car tax bills

Connecticut Public Radio | By John Henry Smith

Published July 12, 2022 at 6:28 PM EDT

A customer prepares to pump gas into her car at a gas station in San Rafael, Calif., on May 20. Surging gas prices have been a major pain point for many household budgets. — A customer prepares to pump gas into her car at a gas station in San Rafael, Calif., on May 20.

The good news was that the state would lower the cap in over 70 municipalities this year on car taxes from $45 per $1,000 of assessed car value (or 45 mills) to 32.46 mills.

The bad news is that many taxpayers have found that, because of higher used car valuations during the pandemic, their car tax bills are actually higher than they were last year.

Hearst Connecticut reporter Abigail Brone has been following this situation. She joined "All Things Considered" to talk about how we got here and what could happen next.

News

John Henry Smith

John Henry Smith is Connecticut Public’s host of All Things Considered, its flagship afternoon news program. He's proud to be a part of the team that won a regional Emmy Award for The Vote: A Connecticut Conversation. In his 21st year as a professional broadcaster, he’s covered both news and sports.

See stories by John Henry Smith

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Donate

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.