Malloy Says Tax Burden Still On Table

DANBURY -- After the 16th of 17 scheduled town meetings on the budget, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Wednesday he's not willing to increase his proposal of $1.5 billion in new taxes--but he might reconsider how the burden is shared.

Even if concession talks with state employees fail and Malloy has to find another $1 billion to balance the budget, it won't come from taxes, Malloy said. His tax proposal of $1.5 billion is the outer limit.

"That's what we're talking about -- no more," he said.

But Malloy did not rule out acceding to a demand for a more progressive tax structure heard at most, if not, all of the meetings that have taken him to every community with a daily newspaper except Middletown, the site of his 17th and last meeting next week.

"I'm willing to have a discussion along those lines," Malloy said during a brief interview. "We're taking a look. I'm certainly hearing what everybody's saying."

He declined to go into details about what a more progressive tax structure might look like. In fact, his first reaction was to jokingly protest, since his proposal already would increase progressivity by expanding the state's tax brackets from three to eight.

"How many do they want?" Malloy said.

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