(Washington, D.C.) - On behalf of its more than 14,000 Connecticut members and supporters, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today urged Connecticut’s state legislators to oppose Republican Gov. John G. Rowland’s plan to raise taxes to pay for a $500 million budget deficit.

“Before any consideration is given to penalizing Connecticut citizens by raising a penny of taxes, every possible effort should be made to reduce wasteful spending,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “Gov. Rowland seems to have already forgotten that when he cut the income tax six years ago, Connecticut began to recover the 125,000 jobs lost after the adoption of the personal income tax in 1991.”

Schatz also opposed new state taxes.  “Connecticut needs to establish a state Grace Commission—modeled after President Reagan’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control—to scour every nook and cranny of the state budget for waste, fraud, and abuse.  Implementation of such an aggressive cost cutting regimen would usher in a new era of fiscal responsibility and negate the need to raise taxes.”

“The governor’s proposal to raise Connecticut’s cigarette excise tax rate by 40 cents per pack will bring in far less than necessary to cover the deficit,” Schatz added.  “A 40-cent increase in cigarette taxes could result in thousands of jobs lost which will increase the need for state assistance.  In addition, taxable cigarette sales will be lost due to increased cross-border sales, Internet purchases, and illegal smuggling.”

Schatz questioned whether a cost-cutting commission would agree, in the current budget climate, that this is the right time to raise the governor’s salary by almost 100 percent.

“The real solution to Connecticut’s budget deficit is clear: reduce wasteful spending, do not raise taxes,” Schatz concluded.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.