Hartford Business Journal

4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 By HBJ Staff & Keith Phaneuf, CT Mirror G ov. Ned Lamont's two-year, $50.5 billion budget includes a number of changes to business taxes and tax credits. While the Democratic governor's budget includes more than $500 million in tax cuts, not all businesses will see relief. Before his budget reveal earlier this month, Lamont announced plans to pare back the pass-through entity tax, a levy created in 2018 to help business owners work around a new $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions within the federal income tax system. This would save about 123,000 small and mid-sized businesses, collectively, as much as $60 million annually starting in 2024. Lamont also hinted in December that he would allow the state's corporation tax surcharge, which was supposed to expire this year, to sunset. However, his budget keeps the 10% surcharge in place until 2025, costing companies $130 million over two years. Other tax changes in the governor's proposal include: • Boosting from 5% to 10% the business tax credit that encourages companies to invest in human capital, such as sponsoring new work education and training programs. The 5% credit would increase to 25% for spending to help employees with child-care expenses. These changes would cost the state roughly $3.5 million per year. • Repealing the recent expansion of the state's angel investor tax credit program that benefits those who invest at least $25,000 in a qualified cannabis business. This would save the state $27.5 million over the next two fiscal years combined. Home Sales Here's a list of recently sold luxury homes in Greater Hartford. Sale price Address Town Beds Baths Square footage Days on market $780,000 26 Bittersweet Hill Wethersfield 4 3 4,824 50 $717,000 40 Saddle Ridge Road Glastonbury 5 5 4,817 9 $709,900 27 Stratton Farms Road Suffield 4 3 3,058 4 $656,000 1462 Asylum Avenue Hartford 5 4 3,653 7 $643,975 6 Trumbull Lane Farmington 4 6 5,544 3 $630,000 126 Needletree Lane Glastonbury 4 4 3,120 38 $620,000 472 Stanley Drive Glastonbury 4 3 3,808 54 $611,000 15 R Morningside Drive Granby 4 3 4,839 64 $610,000 15 Austin Brook Drive East Granby 4 3 2,753 7 $605,000 48 Copplestone Road Avon 4 3 3,116 3 $600,000 6 Forest Glen Road Burlington 3 3 2,235 9 $588,000 36 Welch Road Southington 4 3 3,124 3 $585,000 84 Westminster Drive West Hartford 3 3 3,075 10 $583,000 96 Hunters Lane Southington 4 3 2,576 46 $575,000 6 Stonemeadow Lane Canton 4 4 3,234 2 $557,000 62 Eagle Run South Windsor 2 2 2,028 46 $551,500 17 Worthington Drive Bloomfield 3 3 1,948 0 $540,000 3 Laurie Joe Way Simsbury 5 4 3,983 51 $535,000 58 Quail Hollow Drive Southington 3 3 3,092 74 $522,500 52 East Weatogue Street Simsbury 4 4 3,000 112 Credit: Data provided by Evan L. Berman of William Raveis Broder Team. Contact him at evan@brodergroup.com. Here's how Gov. Lamont's $50.5B budget impacts business taxes, workforce development, cannabis Former manufacturing executive Kelli-Marie Vallieres leads the state's Office of Workforce Strategy, which would become an independent agency under Gov. Ned Lamont's recent budget proposal. $39M for workforce development Lamont's budget also outlines $30 million in fiscal 2024 and $9 million in fiscal 2025 for workforce development initiatives. Those totals don't include a major proposed ramp-up in spending ($600 million) on affordable and workforce housing, which Lamont said is also key to growing the state's population and workforce. Lamont's proposal includes making the Office of Workforce Strategy, currently led by former manufacturing executive Kelli-Marie Vallieres, a standalone agency. OWS is currently within the governor's office. He budgets $1.5 million for the workforce strategy office over two years, which would pay for current staff and one new position. The new workforce development spending also includes: • $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds for the state Department of Education to support school districts with staffing issues, including addressing the paraprofessional shortage. • $8.65 million in fiscal 2024 and $8.9 million in fiscal 2025 for the Special Transportation Fund to support the expansion of bus services specifically to support workforce transportation. • $1 million in ARPA funds for the Department of Administrative Services to expand its Healthcare Workforce Recruitment campaign to out‐of‐state markets. • An additional $10 million for the Department of Labor's CT Youth Employment Program, which provides job opportunities and work experiences for economically disadvantaged youth from ages 14. Cannabis impact Lamont's budget proposal also carries new funding for the cannabis industry. It allocates $16 million over two years to the Cannabis Social Equity and Innovation Fund to support the Social Equity Council's funded positions, functions and community reinvestment efforts. Another $5.8 million over two years would go to the Cannabis Prevention and Recovery Services Fund to underwrite three positions and for media campaigns, secret shopper programs and grants to local prevention organizations. Lamont's proposal also utilizes $20.4 million over two years for 10 state agencies to regulate and administer the adult-use cannabis market. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

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