House Republican Press Release

 

 

 

January 30, 2008

Press Office: 860-240-8700

 

Reps Hamzy, Burns: House GOP Health Care, Home Heating Tax Credits Proposed for Middle Class Taxpayers

 

Bigger Tax Refund Checks Helps Strapped Taxpayers, Keeps CT Economy on Track

 

Tax credits proposed Wednesday by the House Republican caucus to help offset rising healthcare and home heating costs will provide badly-needed relief to Connecticut’s overburdened middle class taxpayers and help keep the state’s economy on track at a time when many believe a recession may be looming, state representatives William A. Hamzy, and Ron Burns said today.

The proposals were unveiled at a news conference Wednesday at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

“The proposals we put forward today not only will give Bristol and Plymouth’s moderate income taxpayers badly-needed tax relief at a time when it could not be more welcome, but also will mean they have more money to spend on purchases they may have put off to keep current on their heating bills and to pay for medical care and prescription drugs for their families,” said Representative Hamzy, R-78th District, who participated in the news conference. “In addition, the extra dollars in their tax refund checks will help keep Connecticut’s economy on track when they spend them at local stores.”

“Many of the families I represent are genuinely concerned about whether Connecticut is headed for an economic downturn similar to the one that occurred earlier in the decade,” said Representative Burns, R-77th District. “At a time when middle class taxpayers are being forced to stretch their paychecks and postpone important purchases because of the high cost of heating their homes and paying high deductibles for health care and prescription drugs, I believe the tax credits we have proposed are compassionate, timely, and affordable.”

 “We offered our proposals in response to a serious problem that is hurting the middle class more than other taxpayers. We hope bi-partisan agreement on a tax relief and economic stimulus package can be reached quickly and that the state legislature passes it by mid-March at the latest. Connecticut’s middle class taxpayers need relief and they need it as soon as possible,” the legislators said.

House Republicans also outlined a specific timetable of public hearings and various committee reviews that could produce a bipartisan, comprehensive relief package by March 19. Republicans proposed using roughly $200 million of the state’s $263 million surplus to: