Many state residents are facing higher car tax bills this year despite state government lowering the mill rate in over 70 cities and towns. Experts say rising used car prices have led to higher car valuations for tax purposes. And that has led to the higher tax bills.
Jeff Beckham, secretary of the state Office of Policy and Management, said recently that the increases many folks are seeing in their car tax bills aren't state government’s fault. He lays the blame on the municipalities because he says state and federal government provided them with millions of dollars in funding during the pandemic. He says the towns should have used some of that money to defray some of those increases in car tax bills.
For his reaction to Beckham's statement, I welcomed Thomas DeNoto, Bristol town assessor and president of the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers, to "All Things Considered." He and Beckham seem to be more on the same page than not.
DeNoto also shared his thoughts on whether car taxes are fair at all.
