Comptroller Kevin Lembo Archive > News
COMPTROLLER LEMBO LAUNCHES NEW INTERACTIVE "DIY REVENUE CALCULATOR" AS PART OF OPENCONNECTICUTComptroller Kevin Lembo today announced the launch of a new “DIY (Do-it-Yourself) Revenue Calculator” – an online tool that allows the public to calculate the approximate impact tax changes would have on overall state revenue, and then share visualizations of those possible changes.
Lembo will host a demonstration of the DIY Revenue Calculator at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 6 in Room 1B at the Legislative Office Building.
The DIY Revenue Calculator will join other features on the Office of the State Comptroller’s “OpenConnecticut” site and can be accessed directly at osc.ct.gov/openct/calculator.html.
The new DIY Revenue Calculator (replacing an earlier version launched in April 2013) has been redeveloped to feature the latest tax rates, revenue estimates and information concerning tax credits and exemptions, as well as new potential revenue sources considered by the legislature in recent years. The tool will be updated regularly as new data and information becomes available.
“Tax policy should be a fully inclusive conversation – not a spectator sport – because the implications of revenue decisions affect all of us,” Lembo said. “This DIY Revenue Calculator is about bringing all people closer to government and Connecticut revenue policy.
“Connecticut’s tax structure can be complicated for just about everyone – but this tool helps to break down barriers, making it easier for users at every level to better understand the state’s tax system, and discover in real time the benefits or consequences of changing each component of the state’s revenue system.”
Each section of the DIY Revenue Calculator describes the individual
components of Connecticut’s tax revenue, and takes users step by step through
the tool and its features. Using the DIY Revenue Calculator, users can:
• specify changes in existing tax rates
• eliminate specific taxes altogether
• eliminate existing tax exemptions and credits, and
• implement new taxes and fees to change the estimated amount and sources of
state revenue.
With each step, users will have the ability to see the approximate impact of those changes.
“Open government and transparency are essential to an informed citizenry, healthy democracy and an effective government,” Lembo said. “Rather than simply post facts and data on OpenConnecticut, this calculator equips Connecticut residents with an instrument to proactively engage in budget and policy discussions that will strengthen our state and its finances.”
The DIY Revenue Calculator is strictly for use as a tool to broadly understand approximate tax change implications, and is not intended for official use.
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