Submitted by State Sen. Norm Needleman
(August 18, 2024) — This week, from Sunday, August 18, 2024 to Saturday, August 24, 2024, the state’s annual sales tax-free week will take place in stores across Connecticut, just in time for back-to-school planning.
Most items of clothing valued under $100 will be exempt from the state’s 6.35% sales tax, with exceptions only for specific training, professional and athletic products and accessories. Items that are already on sale can have those sales stacked with the tax exemption, saving shoppers more money.
“Time is Money”
A new government initiative, “Time is Money,” is a coordinated effort from several federal agencies to make it easier to unsubscribe from memberships and recurring payments that can cause headaches for consumers. The effort will target companies that cause delays and issues for customers who want to unsubscribe from their services, memberships or subscriptions.
The Federal Communications Commission is inquiring into imposing requirements to make it easy for consumers to cancel services, while the Federal Trade Commission has initiated a “click to cancel” rule pushing a similar concept. The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services are also exploring ways to make health insurance more transparent and simple. The Justice Department has already filed a lawsuit against Adobe for forcing customers into plans where cancelling can cost them hundreds of dollars.
Wrong-Way Driving Solutions
The state Department of Transportation is continuing to install wrong-way driver detection systems in an effort to save lives and improve road safety. In the past year, sixty-eight systems were installed on highway exits where drivers might go in the wrong direction. The goal is to have 120 such systems in place by next year. These systems blare alarms to alert drivers and also alert local police whenever a wrong-way driver is headed onto the highway. This is part of a continuing effort to improve road safety statewide.
IRS Direct File
In 2025, taxpayers in Connecticut will have a new option to complete their taxes. Connecticut recently announced it will join IRS Direct File, a new option that’s intended to be no cost, easier to file and avoids the fees charged by tax software. In 2024, during a pilot program for IRS Direct File, the program allowed 140,000 taxpayers to save $5.6 million in filing costs, savings of about $40 per person on average. It will expand nationwide next year. About 90% of people who used Direct File to file taxes this year said they enjoyed their experience and were able to save money compared to the previous year.
West Nile Virus/Eastern Equine Encephalitis
As the summer stretches on, West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis are becoming more prevalent in mosquitoes statewide. The latest roundup of mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile now includes Bridgeport, Canterbury, Danbury, Darien, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Hartford, Manchester, Milford, New Canaan, New Haven, Norwalk, South Windsor, Southington, Stamford, Stonington, Stratford, Voluntown, West Haven, Westport and Wethersfield; Canterbury and Voluntown saw mosquitoes test positive for EEE. These viruses can cause serious illness for people who are affected; please continue to take precautions and protect against insects.
Lead-Free Connecticut
A new Department of Public Health state campaign seeks to protect children from the harmful health impacts of lead to create a lead-free future supporting health statewide. The program features a lead abatement program, which will provide $20 million of support to remove lead paint hazards at no cost from homes, including family childcare settings. Lead poisoning still impacts more than a thousand children in Connecticut each year and can cause behavioral problems, poor school performance and long-term negative health impacts. Anyone interested in learning more can visit www.leadfreect.org.
Grants for Women-Owned Businesses
The Women’s Business Development Council’s Small Business Grant application period is now open. These applications support the WBDC’s Ignite Grant, for established woman-owned businesses, and Child Care Business Opportunity Fund Grant, for established and aspiring child care businesses. The Ignite Grants are designed to support women-owned businesses with financial support valued between $2,500 and $10,000 to impact business growth, while the Child Care grants are valued at up to $25,000 to help businesses ranging from those starting up to those ready to expand. The application period will remain open through September 24, 2024 for the Ignite Grant, and September 9, 2024 for the Child Care grants.
