News

Connecticut’s minimum wage will rise to $15.69 in January under the first annual adjustment required by a 2019 law tying the wage to the employment cost index.

State will have sent $7.7 billion in surplus into pensions since 2020.

Connecticut’s economic growth has lagged the rest of the country since both the pandemic recession and the Great Recession, costing the state an estimated 250,000 jobs and potentially billions of dollars in tax revenue, according to a report from child advocacy and economic policy group CT Voices for Children.

For Connecticut Public Charity registrations originally due after July 1, 2023, Connecticut Public Acts 23-99 and P.A. 23-98, effectively raise the audit threshold for charitable organizations (subject to registration) to gross revenues greater than $1,000,000 and allows for an audit or review for organizations with gross revenues between $500,001 and $1,000,000. Gross revenue is calculated excluding grants or fees from government agencies or revenue from funds held in trust for the benefit of the organization. Public Acts 23-98 and 99 state that, “For a financial statement [i.e., a charitable registration] that is initially due after July 1, 2023, a charitable organization shall include with the charitable organization's financial statement (A) an attestation that an audit report has been completed by a certified public accountant if the charitable organization had gross revenue in excess of one million dollars in the year covered by such report, or (B) an attestation that an audit or review report has been completed by a certified public accountant if the charitable organization had gross revenue in excess of five hundred thousand dollars but not more than one million dollars in the year covered by such report.” With the law effective July 1, 2023, the new provision generally applies to each Connecticut charitable organization subject to registration with a fiscal year ending August 31, 2022 or later. CPAs should consider alerting their not-for-profit clients of the new requirements. The chart below refers to the financial documents required for renewal applications.

Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney says CT needs to get child tax credit underway next year.

Connecticut businesses with five or more employees have less than two weeks before a deadline to register with a state-run program intended to provide a retirement savings plan to private sector workers who do not receive such benefits from their employers.

Perhaps the biggest development in employment law in 2023 is the federal government’s proposal to ban noncompete clauses. The federal government’s actions coincide with, or in some instances have prompted some states to restrict or outright ban noncompete agreements in their entirety.

Advocates predict renewed push in 2024 for ongoing child tax credit.

This spring the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) announced an amendment to the Uniform Accountancy Act Model Rules that extends the CPA Exam testing window from 18 months to 30 months. This means that individuals will now have 30 months from receiving their first CPA Exam section passing score to successfully pass the remaining sections.

The following is intended to provide an overview of certain legislation enacted during the 2023 regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly. The information below is not intended to be a complete analysis of each and every aspect of recently enacted legislation but is intended to inform and alert taxpayers and practitioners of the enactment of such legislation.

Connecticut officials have debated for years whether raising taxes on its wealthiest families would prompt them to flee the state.

The Department of Economic and Community Development overstated the economic impact of its business assistance programs, according to a recent evaluation of their annual reports.

Plainville town officials announced the municipality is implementing a new four-day workweek for its employees later this month, a practice growing in popularity within both local government and the private sector.

In an effort to align with a coalition of states accelerating the shift towards electric vehicles, Gov. Ned Lamont revealed plans on Wednesday to halt the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

Legislative leaders hope to convene a special session in September to pass a bipartisan proposal that would reschedule Connecticut’s presidential primary by moving the election forward several weeks to early April.

Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo is warning Connecticut employers and residents of an uptick in unemployment benefits fraud due to identity theft. Connecticut is among states being targeted by criminals who are flooding the unemployment system using stolen identities to file for benefits. During the pandemic, stolen identities were available on the dark web for about one dollar. Criminals are still mining this resource to purchase names, Social Security Numbers, birth dates, and other personal information that they use to apply for credit cards, bank loans, and unemployment benefits. Connecticut’s unemployment system is currently receiving several thousand claims per day; CTDOL suspects around 75% are fraudulent and is withholding payment.

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed into law legislation approved by the Connecticut General Assembly during the recently adjourned session that requires students to complete a half-credit course in personal financial management and financial literacy in order to graduate from Connecticut public high schools. It also adds personal financial management and financial literacy to the state’s required program of instruction for public schools.

The Biden administration projects the change will give over 800,000 borrowers nationwide a total of $39 billion in debt relief

Connecticut’s next study on tax fairness will go even deeper than its first two assessments, which concluded the poor and middle class proportionally pay much more than Connecticut’s wealthy.

Connecticut climbed eight spots in CNBC’s annual ranking of “Top States for Business,” reaching 31st on this year’s list.