Connecticut May Cut Debt Sales for Budget on Revenue Gains, Governor Says

Connecticut, the state with the most tax-supported debt per person, may lower the amount of bonds it will sell to balance its budget because tax revenue is rebounding, Governor Jodi Rell said.

The state may sell $702.8 million of bonds backed by electric-bill surcharges to cover a projected shortfall in the fiscal year that began July 1, down from a previous estimate of $956 million, Rell said today in a statement. The Republican governor cited “marked improvements” in sales-tax collections as well lower expenditures, including a $100 million payment to the state employee retirement system that was deferred.

Last year, state lawmakers opted to borrow almost $1 billion to balance the budget. The state also drained its $1.4 billion rainy-day fund and raised the top income-tax rate to 6.5 percent from 5 percent for couples earning more than $1 million annually.

Connecticut’s net tax-supported debt of $4,859 per person is the highest of all 50 U.S. states, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The state is also the wealthiest, with per capita personal income of $54,397 in 2009, according to U.S. Commerce Department data.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael McDonald in Boston at mmcdonald10@bloomberg.net.

• Tweet
• More
  • Business Exchange
  • Buzz up!
  • Digg
• Print
• Email