Connecticut Democrats: New tax law negatively impacts taxpayers

State Senate Democrats say President Donald Trump's tax reform is having a huge impact on residents who are shocked when they are being forced to pay up instead of seeing a return.

News 12 Staff

Apr 15, 2019, 9:12 PM

Updated 2,009 days ago

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State Senate Democrats say President Donald Trump's tax reform is having a huge impact on residents who are shocked when they are being forced to pay up instead of seeing a return.
In a state with traditionally high property taxes, residents couldn't deduct as much as they could in the past. Even Connecticut lawmakers were not immune.
"I retired from a lifetime of work. And my husband retired a couple years ago. We filed our taxes this year and we're paying $10,800 more than we paid last year. And there's something wrong with that," says state Sen. Julie Kushner.
Officials say state taxpayers saw a $2.7 billion tax increase as a result of President Trump's new tax law. The new tax code caps State and Local Tax deductions at $10,000. But according to the most recent data from 2015, Connecticut taxpayers on average used to deduct almost $20,000.
As a result, the owner of Norwalk's Liberty Tax says his clients are hurting.
"They're upset because they have to pay a lot. Some people may have been helped because rates are a little bit lower, and they have not been hurt by eliminations and deductions, but a great majority of people have been hurt," says Mark Cody, owner of Liberty Tax in Norwalk.
Meanwhile, Republicans are calling it fake outrage from Democrats, saying they're responsible for some of the biggest tax increases in state history.