Downtown Hartford development.

[gioff23]

They don't rely on obscene tax rates on only residences, they also rely on obscene tax rates on companies. Most if not all of the largest 25 taxpayers are companies, and they don't only pay taxes on the land and building, but also the personal property inside. Imagine also paying taxes on your laptop, TV and kitchen appliances. Now multiply that times the tens, hundreds, or thousands of employees at your building. Hartford got 3/4 of a billion in personal property taxes alone last year. It's one of the reasons Eversource paid $12 million in taxes in one year.

I know, the wage tax would just be passed through to the employees, but a) try selling that to the employees and b) how do you tax someone who telecommutes? You're creating an advantage for the employees who work from home by giving them an artificial raise. What if the amount of time they spend in the office varies week to week? You're creating an administrative nightmare for the company in terms of tracking and fairly applying that tax. And that's going to be an additional expense you can't pass along to the employees. Instead, it's one more reason not to do business in Hartford.

I don't have the answer, but it almost certainly isn't new taxes. Companies are leaving Hartford and Connecticut in general due to high taxes. We have so many buildings for lease it's sad. If we lowered the tax rate, but were able to build up the occupancy, we could (could) see increased revenues. If we raise taxes, we almost certainly won't encourage anyone to come here, and will likely drive more companies out.

Eversource, Insurance Companies Among Top Taxpayers In Hartford

It is not a pass thru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a direct tax on the employee.

"A City Wage Tax is a tax on salaries, wages, commissions and other compensation paid to an employee employed by or rendering services to an employer. Individual employees will find that the employer deducts Wage Tax from their pay, since this is required by law.

You are right, it creates administrative challenges, but companies have those now. Employees travel out of state and taxes have to be adjusted to reflect time spent outside the state. Similarly, the tax on property has to follow the property. If the employee works from home they take the company-provided laptop with them and their is no tax. And They always will be, as they generate revenue. Companies can negotiate with the city to lower their taxes - let's not worry too much about them.

Again, I generally despise taxes as an incentive to grow. In fact, taxes are a proven recipe for non-growth. I'd advocate for lowering the taxes on companies and inserting a wage tax. The simple fact of the matter is that Hartford is unable to raise revenue now and its revenue falls far short of its expenses. Regionalization and state reallocations can help, but ultimately Hartford should be able to stand on its own 2 feet, perhaps with some state assistance. Today, it can barely get up on one knee. If you want to make it better, you need to figure out ways to pay the bills. What Hartford and CT have done for decades has CLEARLY failed. I'll leave it to you to keep banging your head on the same brick wall searching for a different outcome.

 

[Ha Who]

The owner of Bear's voluntarily upped his base wage to $15-16/hour. I can see Bronin saying thanks, now give us 2% back on a wage tax. For someone working 25 hours a week, that's almost $400 a year. Not life-altering, but it's 2-4 months of car payments. That adds up.

If you're making $25/hour (roughly $50k) it's around $1k a year. Ouch.

And that is on top of what you already pay through the state and your schools get less to prop up Hartford schools. The extra money has helped performance of the school system.

 

[whaler11]

It is not a pass thru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a direct tax on the employee.

"A City Wage Tax is a tax on salaries, wages, commissions and other compensation paid to an employee employed by or rendering services to an employer. Individual employees will find that the employer deducts Wage Tax from their pay, since this is required by law.

You are right, it creates administrative challenges, but companies have those now. Employees travel out of state and taxes have to be adjusted to reflect time spent outside the state. Similarly, the tax on property has to follow the property. If the employee works from home they take the company-provided laptop with them and their is no tax. And They always will be, as they generate revenue. Companies can negotiate with the city to lower their taxes - let's not worry too much about them.

Again, I generally despise taxes as an incentive to grow. In fact, taxes are a proven recipe for non-growth. I'd advocate for lowering the taxes on companies and inserting a wage tax. The simple fact of the matter is that Hartford is unable to raise revenue now and its revenue falls far short of its expenses. Regionalization and state reallocations can help, but ultimately Hartford should be able to stand on its own 2 feet, perhaps with some state assistance. Today, it can barely get up on one knee. If you want to make it better, you need to figure out ways to pay the bills. What Hartford and CT have done for decades has CLEARLY failed. I'll leave it to you to keep banging your head on the same brick wall searching for a different outcome.

The only reason those companies are still in Hartford is because there are employees who still want to live here.

If Hartford ever passed this tax I’d never set foot in the city again as an employee. I’d turn on my VPN and permanently work from my home.

 

[gioff23]

But in the meantime, you expect the city to provide you services for free. Sounds like a recipe for growth. Do me a favor, when you leave Hartford, be sure to turn out the lights as you're likely to be the last guy there.

 

[whaler11]

But in the meantime, you expect the city to provide you services for free. Sounds like a recipe for growth. Do me a favor, when you leave Hartford, be sure to turn out the lights as you're likely to be the last guy there.

I park in a garage and walk in the building.

I don’t need nor ask for any services from Hartford as someone who works there.

I already prop up the city with my state taxes. I’ll pass on throwing more good money after bad.

 

[Sky ball]

If you want to make a city like Hartford successful the tax base needs to be regionalized . Hartford has one of the smallest square mile foot prints in the country. Other areas that people point to for smaller city up and coming successes have this. Think if Glastonbury and West Hartford were actually metropolitan Hartford and you would realize the square mileage areas other comparable cities are drawing from.

Problem is the idiot nimbys in this state only care about their little fiefdoms. Way too many small towns in this state.

Agree. I like the county government structure in Virginia.