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94 | HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2, 2017 Q/A THE FUTURE Hartford's college town vibe key to attracting future workforce Joanne Berger-Sweeney President, Trinity College Do you see Hartford evolving into a college town? What needs to happen to make that a reality? Hartford is a college town! There are more than 36,000 students attending colleges and universities in the Hartford area and 11 institutions that make up the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education (of which Trinity College was a founding member). UConn's new campus and Trinity's new presence downtown will do even more to define Hartford as a college town and make it an even more vibrant Capital City. It's exciting to see that area businesses are anticipating the influx of students downtown and the myriad opportunities they'll bring. How do we get more Connecticut college graduates to stay and work in the state? Many Trinity College alumni stay in the area after graduation, and they've made enormous contributions to the region. Three of our alumni recently were named to HBJ's '40 under Forty' list. To entice more local grads to remain in the state, job opportunities are key, of course. The work we'll be doing to develop Hartford and East Hartford as an 'Innovation Place' will help a great deal to encourage business growth in the region's strongest economic clusters — insurance, health care, and aerospace/advanced manufacturing — and link educational opportunities to career development ones. It's also about the state's appeal to young college graduates as a place to live and play. We can do more to promote the wonderful cultural amenities and resources (natural and otherwise) in our midst and to connect students while they're in college to the communities that surround them, helping them to feel a part of and invested in their future. Fiscal stability key to CT's future Joe Brennan CEO, Connecticut Business & Industry Association What steps must the state take to improve its business climate over the next decade? Clearly a plan has to be put in place to restore Connecticut's fiscal stability. That means setting clear priorities for state government and developing a reasonable, predictable and stable revenue stream to fund those priorities. At the same time, we have to get a better handle on our long-term unfunded liabilities by cutting expenses wherever possible and dedicating a funding mechanism to reduce those liabilities overall. Governments at all levels have to look at business as more of a partner if we are to truly make Connecticut the best place in the country to run a company. In particular, the General Assembly must recognize that a vibrant, growing economy is the best way to overcome many of the challenges facing the state, and stop adding more burdens onto employers. Improving the state's finances and partnering with business will allow us to focus on workforce, technology, transportation and other areas that will enhance our economic competitiveness. If you were to recommend one major change to Connecticut's tax code to spur business hiring and investment, what would it be? Not to dodge the question, but you really have to look at different taxes for different size companies as well as the different industries in Connecticut. For many smaller companies, the biggest tax they pay on their business income is the personal income tax. Bringing the tax back closer to its origins — a low, flat-rate tax — would lighten the load on small businesses and allow them to invest more back in their companies to help them grow. For large companies, a return to full value for their earned tax credits, and a commitment to maintain those credits at 100 percent, would restore a lot of the confidence that companies once had in our tax policies. The predictability that is so important to investors is lost when government continues to tinker with the tax code. Another key to spurring hiring and investment is to either eliminate or significantly reduce Connecticut's estate and gift taxes. These taxes are non-competitive and drive needed investment out of the state. "Another key to spurring hiring and investment is to either eliminate or significantly reduce Connecticut's estate and gift taxes. " "It's exciting to see that area businesses are anticipating the influx of students downtown and the myriad opportunities they'll bring. "