Donovan Talks Tax Increases

Wednesday January 28, 2009

Amid the snow and sleet in Hartford this morning, Speaker of the House Chris Donovan appeared on WNPR’s “Where We Live,” talk-and-call-in show.
The first 20 minutes or so of the hour-long show with host John Dankosky, was spent performing another autopsy on the ill-fated hiring of Jim Amann to act as his senior advisor. Donovan said that the $120,000 salary seemed to be the biggest cause of public outcry. Then Donovan said that he didn’t think Amann understood that the job would take up more than an eight-hour business day.
From there, Donovan intimated the inevitable as the state confronts multi-billion-dollar deficit both in the current fiscal year that runs through June 30 and the two-year budget that the Legislature will be crafting to take effect July 1.
“THe wealthy as well as the average person needs to kick in,” Donovan said.
For those keeping score, the billion-dollar deficit of 1991 forced the 4.5-percent personal income tax. The deficit of 2002-03 resulted in an increase of the tax to 5 percent, after Democrats pushed for a so-called milliuonaire’s tax.