House Republican Leader Themis Klarides Thursday said the state’s underperforming income and sales tax revenue has put Connecticut nearly $79 million in deficit, and conflicts with the Governor’s budget office which has insisted as recently as Sept. 20 there was no deficit.
The Office of Fiscal Analysis, OFA, Thursday reported that the state is indeed flowing in red ink to the tune of $78.9 million, due to sliding income and sales tax revenues, while the Governor’s budget chief has said twice in the last two months the budget is balanced.
“It is clear from the OFA report that the Governor’s Office of Policy & Management’s assertions that the budget is balanced were incorrect, if not misleading. Voters and taxpayers have a right to know what is going on with their government prior to making decisions on who should be in charge. We need to acknowledge what is at the core of these conflicting reports,’’ she said.
On Aug. 20 and then again on Sept. 20 in reports to the Comptroller, OPM indicated there was no revenue problem and therefore no deficit. In between, on Sept. 6 in a letter to government agency heads, OPM showed a $133 million hole on the revenue side.
“The state’s economy is not just sluggish. It is stalled. Attempts by the Democrats across the state to put a smiley face on bad news is not a responsible approach. Republicans challenged the Democrats’ projections of economic growth, debt service savings and other economies in their budget that have, so far, proven unattainable,’’ she said.
She added that is not for a $120 million windfall from a settlement with RBS Connecticut would be forced to make another round of painful deficit mitigation cuts.
