State Reps Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) and JP Sredzinski (R-112) along with their Republican colleagues called on the General Assembly December 7 to act on a targeted list of items meant to help job creators ease some of the burdens faced by businesses, workers, and individuals during the pandemic.

Bolinsky said, “Every day, I speak with people and businesses that are not accustomed to the kind of struggles brought on by this public health emergency. One of the hardest things we face is not knowing when the lockdowns will end. The new vaccines making their way to us are welcome lights at the end of this tunnel, but how long will the struggles continue for those just trying to hang on?”

“If we’re indeed in the home stretch, it is more important than ever for government to step up to preserve small businesses, workers, and the families they support,” he said. “It’s up to Congress to compromise on a reasonable stimulus federal program but, as a state, Connecticut can and must do more to help its taxpayers get through.”

For instance, Bolinsky cited the state’s unemployment trust fund, which he said is on the verge of insolvency.

“The system must operate without interruption and without additional taxes on already struggling businesses. We can do this by directing remaining federal stimulus dollars to keep it solvent,” said Rep. Bolinsky. “We also must provide a second deferral of business property taxes for shuttered or severely restricted businesses. It’s been done before. Finally, now is not the time for new payroll taxes. We must delay the January 1, 2021, implementation of the state’s paid leave program until we clear this crisis.”

Sredzinski said working in emergency 9-1-1 communications every day for the town of Startford, he sees first-hand how dangerous COVID-19 is for victims and how important it is to keep people safe.

“Public health is absolutely the top priority, but forcing businesses to close without providing meaningful assistance or guidance and just expecting them to survive is not the solution,” he said. “We need to stop giving conflicting messaging. We need to provide adequate solutions. We need to come together as a legislature, take responsibility, and provide some real relief to business owners before any more are forced to close their doors forever.”

House Republicans have outlined actions they believe need immediate attention, including:

*Shoring up the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund.

*Allowing businesses more time to pay the second half of their personal property taxes.

*Delaying the implementation of the paid family leave payroll tax that will see the state take more money from the paychecks of cash-strapped employees.

The state’s unemployment compensation trust, funded by businesses, ran out of money in August.

Connecticut’s Department of Labor has reported more than 1 million applications for unemployment benefits since March, and current weekly filers total 188,000. It’s anticipated that by December’s end, Connecticut will have borrowed more than $800 million from the federal government to pay benefits.

Employers, not state government, will have to pay back those loans — with interest that begins to accrue in the new year. So state House Republicans wrote to the Connecticut’s US Congressional delegation urging an extension of the interest-free period. House Republicans also said the governor should delay by 90 days the deadline by which businesses pay their personal property taxes, shifting it to April 1 from Jan. 1.

The request is in line with a previous executive order (7s), and businesses would have to apply to the municipality for a deferral.

On January 1, the new one-half of one percent payroll tax goes into effect. Both Bolinsky and Sredzinski are asking to delay that payroll tax, which won’t provide workers access to benefits for until a year after the mandatory paycheck deduction — affecting non-unionized employees only.