Public Policy

Monday, October 8, 2018
What price do Connecticut residents pay for state and local government?

HARTFORD, CT -- Conventional wisdom is that the total price charged by the state and its local governments in Connecticut is one of the most burdensome in the country. A common measure upon which this conclusion is based is the total amount we residents pay in state and local taxes, relative to our aggregate personal income, i.e., our capacity to pay.  On this basis, the Tax Foundation tells us that Connecticut ranks either first or second highest in the nation, depending on which of two analytic models it uses. However, taxes are not the only price paid to governments. Residents also pay a number of fees and other charges, separate and distinct from taxes. By Bill Cibes

Read @ CT Mirror's CTViewpoints >>
Thursday, September 13, 2018
The Growth in Total Household Giving Is Camouflaging a Decline in Giving by Small and Medium Donors: What Can We Do about It?

BOSTON, MA -- Research on giving in the United States has now produced definitive empirical evidence to show a decline in the participation and amounts donated by “small” and “medium” (actually, median) donors and an increasing reliance on “large” donors. That lead sentence should make every reader stop and envision the future of philanthropy in our democracy. Nonprfit Quarterly's Patrick Rooney writes in support of a universal charitable deduction.

Read @ Nonprofit Quarterly >>
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Legal Challenge Seeks to End Prison Gerrymandering in CT

HARTFORD, CT -- Connecticut has repeatedly considered "anti-prison gerrymandering" legislation during the past decade – in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 – but that legislation has failed to pass.  A 2013 report by the Prison Policy initiative and Common Cause found that almost half of the state’s prison population comes from the state’s five largest cities, but almost two-thirds of the state’s prison cells are located in just five small towns – Cheshire, East Lyme, Enfield, Somers, and Suffield.

Read @ CT by the Numbers >>
Thursday, August 23, 2018
IRS Blocks Connecticut Plan to Bypass SALT Tax Deduction Cap

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday issued new rules aimed at preventing taxpayers in Connecticut and other high-income and high-cost states from avoiding a new cap on the deductibility of their state and local taxes. The Internal Revenue Service said in May it would move to thwart the workaround Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, California and a number of other states have taken to avoid the new cap on these popular deductions.

Read @ CT Mirror >>
Thursday, September 7, 2017
CCP Policy Update - September 7, 2017

HARTFORD, CT -- The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy's public policy update from the Septeber 7, 2017 ebrief includes information about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); a RALLY to Protect Nonprofit Services; and the State Charity Officials Letter to Congress: Keep the Johnson Amendment.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Philanthropy Leaders Urge Congress to Strengthen Charitable Giving

WASHINGTON, DC — More than 250 philanthropy leaders from across the nation, including five representing Connecticut philanthropy, are gathering on Capitol Hill starting today to urge lawmakers to value and strengthen charitable giving in America. Their meetings are part of Foundations on the Hill, a multi-day event presented by the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers in partnership with the Council on Foundations and the Alliance for Charitable Reform.

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