Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com January19,2015•Hartford Business Journal 5 RepoRteR's Notebook PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS EnginEEring & COnsTRuCTiOn, inC. Design BuilDeRs • geneRal COnTRaCTORs • COnsTRuCTiOn ManageRs spotlight on: Commercial Global Communications Academy Baccalaureate School | Hartford, Connecticut PDS served in the role as General Contractor for a two story 4,000 square foot interior renovation of new office space. The renovation was a full gut of the existing facility consisting of new carpeting, wood flooring, ceilings, walls, millwork, doors, painting, toilet accessories, sprinkler, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical. This project was completed within a fast track two month span and finished within budget. project size: 4,000 sF Report: CT's lowest earners have highest effective tax rate As we head into a new legislative session where taxes and spending will be the top issue, a new report shows that the state's lowest income earners shoulder a higher percentage of Connecticut's tax burden than richer residents. The report, issued by the state Depart- ment of Revenue Services, shows that the state's 725,202 households that earn less than about $48,000 had an overall effec- tive tax rate of 23.62 percent in 2011. Col- lectively those households contribute 20.4 percent, or $3.56 billion, to the state's $17.4 billion in total tax collections. The state's top earners — 357 households that each make at least $13.2 million— have an overall effective tax rate of 6.28 percent, and contribute $947 million, or 5.4 percent of Connecticut's in-state tax collections. The report drew from 2011 tax data and was done at request of the state legislature, which ordered the creation of and funded the study in 2013. It was completed and made public in early January. The report aims to shed light on the distribution of taxes collected in the state, but didn't make any policy recommendations. The report found that the state's total 2011 tax liability was $21.1 billion, but only $17.4 billion came from Connecticut residents; the rest of the bill was footed by out-of-state individuals. Connecticut makes most of its money from property taxes ($7.3 billion), followed by personal income ($5.8 billion) and the sales and use tax ($2.6 billion). The corporate business tax brings in $190 million. — Greg Bordonaro CT in-state tax collections (paid in 2011) CT Tax taxes paid Property $7.3B Personal income $5.8B Sales & Use $2.6B Excise $703M Gross earnings $466M Corporation business $190M Insurance $167M Gift & estate $153M Real estate conveyance $76.8M Total $17.4B S o u r c e : S t a t e D e p t . o f r e v e n u e S e r v i c e S 4 CT lenders switch to state charters Over the holidays, Connecticut grant- ed the wishes of a lender quartet that sought to relinquish their federal char- ters in favor of being overseen by state bank regulators. On Dec. 29, days before his retirement, state Banking Commissioner Howard F. Pitkin issued a state bank charter to Sav- ings Institute Bank & Trust., a $1.4 billion- asset Windham lender, according to the banking department's homepage. One week earlier, on Dec. 22, Pitkin approved the conversion of $1.4 billion- asset American Eagle Federal Credit Union in East Hartford to a Connecticut credit union now known as American Eagle Financial Credit Union Inc. As part of American Eagle's conver- sion, the credit union also won permission to expand its membership to the 862,000 residents of New Haven County. American Eagle can now count 2.1 million residents, or 58 percent of the state's population, within its turf. Rocky Hill's $368 million-asset Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union is also expand- ing into New Haven County after adopting a state charter. Finally, Pitkin also granted $453 million- asset mutual savings lender Putnam Bank a state bank charter. All four lenders are part of what is widely seen among bank experts as a growing trend among Connecticut banks and credit unions to become state chartered so they can trim regulatory burdens and expenses tied to the Dodd- Frank bank- and consumer protection regulations. — Gregory Seay CT's Bankers Bank widens its turf Among the flurry of Connecticut laws and mandates that took effect New Year's Day, at least one perhaps went largely unnoticed by all but staff and customers of Glastonbury's Bankers Bank Northeast. Starting Jan. 1, Connecticut's legisla- tive fiat allowed Bankers Bank to widen its seven-state marketing turf to include two more Northeast states — Pennsylva- nia and New Jersey. Bankers Bank is one of a small but significant cohort of U.S. financial institu- tions that exist solely to provide short-term loans, and other credit services, national and international wire-transfers and other correspondent-banking services to banks and credit unions. Craig Howie, who has run $140 mil- lion-asset Bankers Bank as president and CEO since July 2013, says the bank's legislative charter limited its services to banks and credit unions only in Con- necticut, the rest of New England, and New York state. "We didn't necessarily need to do it,'' said Howie, who cultivated a rich list of banking clients while with the Federal Home Loan Bank in Pittsburgh. "But it helps replenish our client base.'' — Gregory Seay

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