No Love For Luxury Car Tax In Greenwich
In a petite state with ten billionaires and thousands of millionaires, Connecticut is the land of the luxury car.
And Greenwich is ground zero.
While some in Connecticut’s middle class fight to earn an annual salary of $50,000, it is not unusual for a Greenwich resident to buy a car worth more than that. Up and down Greenwich Avenue, the main retail street, shoppers can spot the most expensive luxury cars in the nation. Public records in the assessor’s office demonstrate that Greenwich has Two,373 cars valued at more than $50,000 each.
As such, local car dealers and some Greenwich residents are fairly worried about Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget-balancing proposal to impose an extra three percent “luxury tax” on the sale of all cars costing more than $50,000 – potentially boosting the sales tax at the high end to 9.35 percent.
Greenwich residents own eighty seven Aston Martins, the spectacular sports car made famous in James Bond movies. The latest models – tho’ they lack the machine guns and passenger-ejection seat in the Aston Martin that Bond drove in “Goldfinger” – are readily available on the Post Road, the location of the state’s only authorized Aston Martin dealership.
Records also showcase that Greenwich residents own nine hundred fifty one Porsches, three hundred thirty six Jaguars, one hundred seven Bentleys, one hundred six Ferraris, eighty Maseratis, twenty six Rolls Royces and five Lamborghinis. The town’s private property appraiser, Ali Karimi, adds that residents also have more than Four,000 BMWs and almost Four,000 Mercedes-Benzes. Wealthy residents also own four Maybachs, an obscure brand that can sell for more than $350,000 – a sum higher than the price of many homes in the Hartford region.
Just who is driving all these luxury cars? Billionaires, celebrities, current and former sports starlets, financial kingpins, wrestling entrepreneur Vince McMahon, and former Fresh York Mets baseball starlet Bobby Bonilla. Seven of the state’s ten billionaires live in Greenwich, and they all own numerous high-end cars. One of them, investor Paul Tudor Jones, has sixteen cars registered to his family.
In this wealthy Fairfield County suburb, Malloy’s plan to tax those cars has been met with a Bronx cheer.
“People are upset about the entire principle of the luxury tax,” said Sen. L. Scott Frantz, a Republican who represents some of the state’s wealthiest residents in Greenwich and Fresh Canaan. “Is three percent going to break the bank for people who can afford a $200,000 Ferrari? No, but a lot of it is principle.”
On the spin side, Democrats and union members say the rich must pay their part of the “collective sacrifice” Malloy has proposed to close a projected $Trio.Three billion deficit. The governor also has proposed an overall tax increase in the next fiscal year of $1.Five billion, including hikes in the income, sales, gasoline, cigarette and cigar taxes.
Sen. Edith Prague, a liberal Democrat from Columbia, said she was incensed to see a latest article citing complaints by Greenwich residents about luxury taxes.
“When I read that, I was so angry to think that these people objected to paying more taxes on luxury cars, on yachts over $100,000 and jewelry over $Five,000 when we have to deny people eyeglasses every year and postpone it to one pair every two years,” Prague said, referring to state-paid eye coverage for Medicaid patients.
“I can’t tell you how angry I was at how insensitive they were to the real world. … I can’t figure how these people, with millions and millions of dollars, can be so selfish,” Prague said. “They’re fortunate that they have such large incomes. They should thank God every day. How many steaks can you eat at one time?”
Stock Collapse, Recession
The luxury car market clearly slowed down commencing in September 2008. That’s when the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers investment bank spurred a cascading collapse of the stock market, leading to the deepest national recession in more than seventy years. The chief executive at Lehman Brothers – Greenwich resident and luxury car holder Richard Fuld – was caught up in the maelstrom and testified to Congress that he lost millions in the collapse.
Statewide, the recession led directly to the closing of eighty automobile dealerships in Connecticut and the loss of Three,000 jobs, said James Fleming, a former state senator who is now president of the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association. Malloy’s proposals, including the elimination of the trade-in allowance for the sales tax, could cause the loss of another seven hundred thirty five jobs at dealerships statewide, Fleming said.
“I don’t see that [the state will] make a dime on the luxury tax,” Fleming said of state tax collections. “Most of the high-end people who can buy Maseratis can buy them anywhere. It’s effortless to avoid it legally.”
After the insides of the recession, the car market – including the sale of luxury models – has improved with the economy.
No Love For Luxury Car Tax In Greenwich
No Love For Luxury Car Tax In Greenwich
In a petite state with ten billionaires and thousands of millionaires, Connecticut is the land of the luxury car.
And Greenwich is ground zero.
While some in Connecticut’s middle class fight to earn an annual salary of $50,000, it is not unusual for a Greenwich resident to buy a car worth more than that. Up and down Greenwich Avenue, the main retail street, shoppers can spot the most expensive luxury cars in the nation. Public records in the assessor’s office showcase that Greenwich has Two,373 cars valued at more than $50,000 each.
As such, local car dealers and some Greenwich residents are fairly worried about Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget-balancing proposal to impose an extra three percent “luxury tax” on the sale of all cars costing more than $50,000 – potentially boosting the sales tax at the high end to 9.35 percent.
Greenwich residents own eighty seven Aston Martins, the spectacular sports car made famous in James Bond movies. The latest models – tho’ they lack the machine guns and passenger-ejection seat in the Aston Martin that Bond drove in “Goldfinger” – are readily available on the Post Road, the location of the state’s only authorized Aston Martin dealership.
Records also showcase that Greenwich residents own nine hundred fifty one Porsches, three hundred thirty six Jaguars, one hundred seven Bentleys, one hundred six Ferraris, eighty Maseratis, twenty six Rolls Royces and five Lamborghinis. The town’s private property appraiser, Ali Karimi, adds that residents also have more than Four,000 BMWs and almost Four,000 Mercedes-Benzes. Wealthy residents also own four Maybachs, an obscure brand that can sell for more than $350,000 – a sum higher than the price of many homes in the Hartford region.
Just who is driving all these luxury cars? Billionaires, celebrities, current and former sports starlets, financial kingpins, wrestling entrepreneur Vince McMahon, and former Fresh York Mets baseball starlet Bobby Bonilla. Seven of the state’s ten billionaires live in Greenwich, and they all own numerous high-end cars. One of them, investor Paul Tudor Jones, has sixteen cars registered to his family.
In this wealthy Fairfield County suburb, Malloy’s plan to tax those cars has been met with a Bronx cheer.
“People are upset about the entire principle of the luxury tax,” said Sen. L. Scott Frantz, a Republican who represents some of the state’s wealthiest residents in Greenwich and Fresh Canaan. “Is three percent going to break the bank for people who can afford a $200,000 Ferrari? No, but a lot of it is principle.”
On the spin side, Democrats and union members say the rich must pay their part of the “collective sacrifice” Malloy has proposed to close a projected $Trio.Three billion deficit. The governor also has proposed an overall tax increase in the next fiscal year of $1.Five billion, including hikes in the income, sales, gasoline, cigarette and cigar taxes.
Sen. Edith Prague, a liberal Democrat from Columbia, said she was incensed to see a latest article citing complaints by Greenwich residents about luxury taxes.
“When I read that, I was so angry to think that these people objected to paying more taxes on luxury cars, on yachts over $100,000 and jewelry over $Five,000 when we have to deny people eyeglasses every year and postpone it to one pair every two years,” Prague said, referring to state-paid eye coverage for Medicaid patients.
“I can’t tell you how angry I was at how insensitive they were to the real world. … I can’t figure how these people, with millions and millions of dollars, can be so selfish,” Prague said. “They’re fortunate that they have such large incomes. They should thank God every day. How many steaks can you eat at one time?”
Stock Collapse, Recession
The luxury car market clearly slowed down kicking off in September 2008. That’s when the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers investment bank spurred a cascading collapse of the stock market, leading to the deepest national recession in more than seventy years. The chief executive at Lehman Brothers – Greenwich resident and luxury car possessor Richard Fuld – was caught up in the maelstrom and testified to Congress that he lost millions in the collapse.
Statewide, the recession led directly to the closing of eighty automobile dealerships in Connecticut and the loss of Trio,000 jobs, said James Fleming, a former state senator who is now president of the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association. Malloy’s proposals, including the elimination of the trade-in allowance for the sales tax, could cause the loss of another seven hundred thirty five jobs at dealerships statewide, Fleming said.
“I don’t see that [the state will] make a dime on the luxury tax,” Fleming said of state tax collections. “Most of the high-end people who can buy Maseratis can buy them anywhere. It’s effortless to avoid it legally.”
After the innards of the recession, the car market – including the sale of luxury models – has improved with the economy.