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Lamont released limited details on these taxes and charges, but proposals include a 10-cent tax on plastic bags, a 75 percent on e-cigarettes, a 25-cent deposit on liquor bottles, and a nickel deposit on 50 milliliter bottles of alcohol, sometimes referred to as “nip” bottles.
Lamont did not discuss the rates of the sugary drinks.
His predecessor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, proposed a 25-cent-deposit on full-sized liquor bottles in 2018, and his administration projected it would raise $13 million.
In 2017, the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee considered, but did not approve, a one-cent-per ounce tax on sweetened beverages.
The title of this article is a bit misleading. In his campaign Lamont initially supported tolls on all vehicles. Then later on he supported the possibility of tolling just trucks like Rhode Island is doing. I don’t think he ever said he would not support tolling of all vehicles.
It is still questionable if what RI is doing is legal. The American Trucker Association and several trucking companies have brought a lawsuit to stop this saying it is unfair. I think that this weighed into his decision to Toll all vehicles rather than get into a legal battle.
I still do not understand the complete opposition to tolls. Today Connecticut gets little to nothing from out of state drivers using our roads yet we have to pay tolls in many other states we travel in. Do we really want to continue to pay for all of our transportation needs ourselves? We are giving out of state drivers a free ride. Can we continue to afford to do this? How does the state get these drivers to pay their fair share unless we implement tolls? We are a small state and few out of state drivers stop and buy gas here. Would you rather see the gas tax raised like other states are doing?
While no final plan has been approved, it is pretty clear that Connecticut residents will be given a discount on tolls with out of state drivers providing 40% to 50% of the revenue from them. This is money that we currently do not get. I encourage those in opposition to tolling to look closer at this and really consider what this really means. Jay
I don’t know why everyone is so upset about this “change” in Lamont’s opinion. It’s should be all or nothing, regarding who gets tolled. I’m not even sure it would be legal to pick and choose who gets to pay unless it’s a totally separate roadway/lane designated solely for them.
The title of this article is a bit misleading. In his campaign Lamont initially supported tolls on all vehicles. Then later on he supported the possibility of tolling just trucks like Rhode Island is doing. I don’t think he ever said he would not support tolling of all vehicles.
It is still questionable if what RI is doing is legal. The American Trucker Association and several trucking companies have brought a lawsuit to stop this saying it is unfair. I think that this weighed into his decision to Toll all vehicles rather than get into a legal battle.
I still do not understand the complete opposition to tolls. Today Connecticut gets little to nothing from out of state drivers using our roads yet we have to pay tolls in many other states we travel in. Do we really want to continue to pay for all of our transportation needs ourselves? We are giving out of state drivers a free ride. Can we continue to afford to do this? How does the state get these drivers to pay their fair share unless we implement tolls? We are a small state and few out of state drivers stop and buy gas here. Would you rather see the gas tax raised like other states are doing?
While no final plan has been approved, it is pretty clear that Connecticut residents will be given a discount on tolls with out of state drivers providing 40% to 50% of the revenue from them. This is money that we currently do not get. I encourage those in opposition to tolling to look closer at this and really consider what this really means. Jay
Because CT residents will be paying the vast majority of tolls, estimates I’ve heard range from 25% to 40% of toll revenue will be coming from out of state drivers. We are not talking about just a couple tolls either, the preliminary toll maps show the CT highways will be heavily tolled. This will drive up the cost of living in what already is a very expensive state.
I'm 100% in favor of tolls. It's a mystery to me why CT residents want to literally give a free ride to out of staters who use our roads to drive right through our state and not pay a dime.
People just want something to complain about. We are suckers to let them cruise on through for free. Have you ever seen on the Mass Pike (a toll road) the long line of cars with NY license plates waiting to get onto rte 84? They plan on speeding right on through CT for free and hahahahaha to us! They had to PAY to drive through MA but once they get to stupid CT it's all FREE to them.
Let's grab their money if they're going to use our roads all the time. We've got a captive audience, let's get their money. Ct residents will get a big discount. The out of staters will pay our bills.
Tolls are another new tax, for what seem to be an endless quest to squeeze every cent possible from taxpayers. We should not be adding a tax that penalizes a resident getting to work, to school, to volunteer , to freely move around the state as they see fit.
Modern technology allows the Government to now reach into your pocket automatically, and to increase the amount at their whim. $ .40 today, $.50 next year, they’ll tell you what is fair or not. Good luck trying to collect from those out of state drivers.
I don’t know why someone hasn’t stated the Tolls process as being a violation of one of our freedoms . This is Government surveillance , as are the license place readers on many Police vehicles in CT. In addition, they will take a “ deposit “ of your money up front. Taxation in advance. They’ll hold onto your money until you use the service. Where are those millions going?
There are presently enough taxes in place in CT to accomplish almost any reasonable goal , if the money is spent wisely. That’s the problem. We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem due to ideaology, perception of what is important , and practice.
And those out of state freeloaders ? We should be welcoming them. We should be advertising the fact that we are “ Toll Free” and place an emphasis on creating opportunities that would want people to come here, spend money , and go on their way. Give them a reason to stay.
This exists now. Plenty of out of state people come here all the time for their child’s actitivities, there are College and Tournaments like the NCAA playoffs at the XL Center which will bring in millions to area businesses and that will generate tax revenue. The Casinos are now trying to compete with out of state facilities, and the State should increase the cost of coming here ? It doesn’t make sense. Most of what Democrats propose doesn’t make sense. They are still fixated on their tired and worn out methods, and try to disguise them so we won’t recognize their failures in the past.
Tolls are another new tax, for what seem to be an endless quest to squeeze every cent possible from taxpayers. We should not be adding a tax that penalizes a resident getting to work, to school, to volunteer , to freely move around the state as they see fit.
+1 Can't rep you again!
I'm surprised that those complaining that taxing groceries is a regressive tax, don't complain about tolls in the same way.
So let's all get taxed while driving to the grocery store to buy our necessities, where we will probably get taxed in the future.
Until CT gets its spending under control, the taxes will never go away.
Because CT residents will be paying the vast majority of tolls, estimates I’ve heard range from 25% to 40% of toll revenue will be coming from out of state drivers. We are not talking about just a couple tolls either, the preliminary toll maps show the CT highways will be heavily tolled. This will drive up the cost of living in what already is a very expensive state.
I am not sure where you got 25% to 40%. Perhaps you are confusing revenue with the percent of out of state drivers on our highways. Our highways have an average of 30% out of state drivers. Lamont has stated his goal is to have 50% of the Toll revenue from out of state drivers. That is a bit aggressive but most agree at least 40% would be realistic. That is hundreds of millions of dollars that Connecticut residents do not have to pay to improve our highways. Would you rather we raise the gas tax as other states are doing?
Despite what the Republicans claim in their very flawed transportation plan, we need more revenue for transportation. The gas tax has not been raised in 20 years. Gas useage has been flat and is likely to decrease as cars become more fuel efficient or switch to electricity. Borrowing money as they are proposing, without a way to pay for it is foolish and just kicking the problem down the road. That has proved to be our state’s demise in the past so how can we keep doing that? Again I encourage you and other opponents look carefully at the problem and the alternatives. I am sure you will see why tolls are necessary. Jay
I am not sure where you got 25% to 40%. Perhaps you are confusing revenue with the percent of out of state drivers on our highways. Our highways have an average of 30% out of state drivers. Lamont has stated his goal is to have 50% of the Toll revenue from out of state drivers. That is a bit aggressive but most agree at least 40% would be realistic. That is hundreds of millions of dollars that Connecticut residents do not have to pay to improve our highways. Would you rather we raise the gas tax as other states are doing?
Despite what the Republicans claim in their very flawed transportation plan, we need more revenue for transportation. The gas tax has not been raised in 20 years. Gas useage has been flat and is likely to decrease as cars become more fuel efficient or switch to electricity. Borrowing money as they are proposing, without a way to pay for it is foolish and just kicking the problem down the road. That has proved to be our state’s demise in the past so how can we keep doing that? Again I encourage you and other opponents look carefully at the problem and the alternatives. I am sure you will see why tolls are necessary. Jay
Provided below is an excerpt from a report from the legislature that states out of state drivers would account for roughly 30% of toll revenue, link is at bottom:
According to the Governor’s Transportation Finance Panel, approximately 30% of tolls would be paid by out-of-state drivers, with a slightly higher percentage (34%) in the major corridors (I-95 and I-84) and a smaller percentage (about 12%) in other locations.
It’s nice to say that we will be getting out of staters to pay their share but the reality is that this is another tax on ct residents. I’m not necessarily against the idea of tolls, but we are already heavily taxed and I have zero faith this will solve our problems. If a state that is as taxed as heavily as ct can’t afford to keep up with basic infrastructure then we need to start asking where is the money going.
Tolls are another new tax, for what seem to be an endless quest to squeeze every cent possible from taxpayers. We should not be adding a tax that penalizes a resident getting to work, to school, to volunteer , to freely move around the state as they see fit.
Modern technology allows the Government to now reach into your pocket automatically, and to increase the amount at their whim. $ .40 today, $.50 next year, they’ll tell you what is fair or not. Good luck trying to collect from those out of state drivers.
I don’t know why someone hasn’t stated the Tolls process as being a violation of one of our freedoms . This is Government surveillance , as are the license place readers on many Police vehicles in CT. In addition, they will take a “ deposit “ of your money up front. Taxation in advance. They’ll hold onto your money until you use the service. Where are those millions going?
There are presently enough taxes in place in CT to accomplish almost any reasonable goal , if the money is spent wisely. That’s the problem. We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem due to ideaology, perception of what is important , and practice.
And those out of state freeloaders ? We should be welcoming them. We should be advertising the fact that we are “ Toll Free” and place an emphasis on creating opportunities that would want people to come here, spend money , and go on their way. Give them a reason to stay.
This exists now. Plenty of out of state people come here all the time for their child’s actitivities, there are College and Tournaments like the NCAA playoffs at the XL Center which will bring in millions to area businesses and that will generate tax revenue. The Casinos are now trying to compete with out of state facilities, and the State should increase the cost of coming here ? It doesn’t make sense. Most of what Democrats propose doesn’t make sense. They are still fixated on their tired and worn out methods, and try to disguise them so we won’t recognize their failures in the past.
You are wrong. The Transportation Fund has a significant revenue problem which is completely separate from the General Fund. Money for the Transportation Fund comes from the gas tax. Gas useage has been flat and is likely to decrease in coming years. The gas tax has not been raised in 20 years so the fund cannot support the same as it did 20 years ago.
I think we all agree our highways are in dire shape and in need of significant improvement. The current funding levels will not support those improvements. The Republicans are proposing to borrow the money. How does that make sense when they think we have a spending problem? That is like paying your mortgage by putting it on a credit card. They also like to tout Public/Private partnerships but if you look at them they still have to be paid and many of them rely on tolls.
We seem to have three choices here: implement tolling to raise revenue, much of it coming from out of state drivers who currently pay nothing; raise the gas tax which primarily would be paid for by Connecticut residents; or do nothing and allow our transportation system to continue to spiral down hill. Your choice. Jay
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