Fee Increases Hit Working Families the Hardest

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary tax is defined as “a charge usually of money imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.” When the General Assembly passed a new two-year budget in September, supporters of the $37.6 billion plan claimed that taxes were raised primarily on the wealthy and large corporations. However, on October 2nd when the legislature reconvened to take up a number of bills that implement the budget for the next two fiscal years, HB 6802 increased nearly every professional license fee, and in some cases these fees were even doubled.

I have received inquiries from people asking if they will be required to pay more for their professional license. Some of the professions affected by the fee increases are teachers, accountants, farmers, retailers, realtors, bankers, architects, engineers and surveyors, electricians and plumbers, pharmacists, landscapers, interior designers, home improvement contractors, insurers, apprentices, bedding dealers and manufacturers, group home providers, barbers and hairdressers, pest control specialists and funeral home operators. Don’t see your profession? Well the bill also incorporates dozens of fee increases for other “miscellaneous” professions and doubles the fees for most corporate filings. If we are serious about attracting businesses and retaining skilled workers in Connecticut, we should not be placing any greater financial burden on them, regardless of their profession.

Unfortunately it doesn’t end there. Recreational fees for hunting and fishing are all being doubled. If you need a marriage or death certificate from your local town hall, those fees are going up as well. Want to visit a state park? You’ll being paying twice as much as last year, which goes against the efforts the state has have made over the past couple of years to make Connecticut a more attractive place to visit, enjoy and most importantly, live in.

No matter how you look at it, these fee increases are simply another tax with a different name. They have the same effect on individuals and businesses as any tax increase and they hit working families the hardest.