March 26, 2008
From: Susan Kniep,
President
The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc. (FCTO)
Website: http://ctact.org/
email: fctopresident@aol.com
860-841-8032
TAX DAY AT
THE CAPITOL!
April 1,
2008
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Legislative Office
Building - Room 1B
A Forum to Discuss
Legislation
Affecting Taxation in Connecticut
Hosted by the
Federation of Connecticut Taxpayers
Organizations, Inc.
In cooperation with State Representative Arthur O'Neill
The Federation of Connecticut
Taxpayer Organizations (FCTO) is pleased to announce its second annual Tax Day
at the Capitol to be held on April 1, 2008.
Connecticut property owners are burdened with one of the highest
property taxes in the nation, second to New
Jersey. Our
taxes are driven by such State mandates as Binding Arbitration and Prevailing
Wage. On average, 75% to 85% of local
property taxes are dedicated to personnel related expenses.
On April 1, 2008, The
Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations will host a panel discussion
on the impact of taxation in Connecticut as well as proposed solutions to
include a Cap on Property Taxes, reforms to Binding Arbitration and Prevailing
Wage, State Initiative and Referendum, and more.
Panelists will include
State Representative Arthur O'Neill,
State Senator Anthony Guglielmo, representatives
of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, Connecticut Conference of
Municipalities, Connecticut Association of Realtors, The Consortium for Fiscal
Responsibility, Office of Policy and Management, and taxpayer
organizations.
A presentation by Peter Wolfgang will also be made on the
Constitutional Convention which will be on the ballot in November, 2008. The forum is open to all legislators,
taxpayers, the public and the press.
Please contact Susan Kniep at
841-8032 or by email at fctopresident@aol.com
with any questions or comments. Also,
visit the Federation’s website at ctact.org for updates on public policy
issues.
The April 1, 2008 Tax Day Agenda Follows…..
10:00 – 10:05 Opening Remarks by Susan Kniep, Facilitator
10:05 – 10:25 Rep. Art O’Neill – Why Taxpayers Need a
Local Property Tax Cap
10:25 – 10:30 Presentation to Rep. Art O’Neill from FCTO
10:30 – 10:45 Robert
Dakers, OPM – Implementing the Property Tax Cap
10:45 -
11:00 Ron Thomas, CCM –
Property Tax Relief/Unfunded Mandates
11:00 – 11:15 Senator Anthony Guglielmo
– State Initiative and Referendum
11:15 – 11:30 Mike Guarco, Consortium – Binding
Arbitration & Prevailing Wage
11:30 – 11:45 Bonnie Stewart, CBIA – Business Tax and The Taxpayers Bill of Rights
11:45 – 12:00 Robert Fiorito - Connecticut Assoc. of
Realtors – Conveyance Tax
12:00 – 12:15 Peter Wolfgang – Family Institute –
Constitutional Convention
12:15 – 12:30 Armand Fusco – Improving Accountability of
Educational Funding
12:30 – 12:40 Mike Telesca – Waterbury Property Owners
Association
12:40 – 1:00 Representatives
of West Hartford and Avon Taxpayer Groups
1:00 – 1:45 Open to Legislators Available to Participate
1:45 – 2:00 Question and Answer Session/Wrap up
·
Please note: All
Legislators have been invited to attend this forum to publicly speak on any tax
issue they wish to address this legislative session.
·
We reserved extra time on our agenda to allow any and all
Legislators to join us, who were not initially able to commit to speak on April
1.