Connecticut Residents Seek Sales, Property and Gas Tax Relief
Support for increased school curricula interventions split along party affiliations
A new digital poll by Sacred Heart University’s Institute for Public Policy & Civic Engagement, was completed between March 24 and April 11. It asked 1,000 Connecticut residents 39 questions about a variety of subjects related to quality-of-life issues; the 2022 elections in Connecticut; property, sales and gas taxes; youth crime and gun control. Results for questions concerning a number of national issues appear in the survey analysis, as well, and are being reported separately.
On the Connecticut front, the vast majority of respondents (80.3%) indicated they will be voting in the November 2022 elections. When asked to grade Governor Ned Lamont, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Chris Murphy, more than two-fifths of respondents (46.8%) rated Lamont as excellent (14.4%) or good (32.4%). Similarly, respondents indicated excellent or good for Blumenthal (43.4%) and Murphy (43.1%).
Nearly half of Connecticut respondents (47.6%) indicated they would vote for Democrat Ned Lamont if the election for governor were held today, while 29.7% would vote for Republican Bob Stefanowski. Of those queried, 83.1% of Democrats indicated they would vote for Lamont, while 11.8% of Republican respondents reported they would vote for the incumbent.
Queries on firearm purchases, parental influence in schools and youth crime
Survey participants were asked several questions about pressing social issues such as gun control, school curricula interventions and youth crime.
- One-third of respondents (33.3%) believe Connecticut’s laws regulating the purchasing of firearms are too lenient, while a similar number (32.5%) believe the laws are “about right.” Of interest, respondents residing in eastern Connecticut (Windham County) were more likely to report Connecticut firearm laws as too restrictive (41.2%) compared to respondents residing in southwestern Connecticut’s Fairfield County (14.9%).
- Regarding parental influence on K-12 school curricula, respondents were nearly evenly split among four answer options with 21.2% indicating there is too much parental influence, 26.6% thought it was about right, 26.9% believe there is too little parental influence, and 25.3% were unsure. A higher number of Republican respondents (42.8%) chose “too little” to describe parental influence on K-12 school compared to Democrat respondents (15.5%).
- Nearly two-fifths of survey respondents (37.7%) indicated the state should respond to young people who repeatedly commit crimes by sentencing them for the same amount of time as an adult, to be served in an adult prison. A higher percentage (71.9%) supported increasing employment opportunities for young people as the best use for public funding to reduce long-term crime.
Connecticut taxes draw ire
In the new poll, 68.3% of surveyed Connecticut residents do not believe the Connecticut property tax is fair. Similarly, 61.8% of respondents feel the same way about the state income tax, and 56.7% do not believe the Connecticut sales tax is fair. A higher percentage of Republicans (72.9%) indicated the income tax is “not fair” when compared to Democrats (51.2%).
The majority of surveyed residents, 78.3%, believe the Governor and General Assembly should temporarily suspend the gas tax, while 58.9% of respondents agree with permanently eliminating the gas tax. One-half of Connecticut respondents (50.8%) support a capped statewide mill rate on vehicles, although 34% were unsure, indicating confusion about the topic.
Quality-of-Life metrics indicate rising concern
The majority of residents surveyed in late March and early April 2022, 73.7%, report their quality of life in the State as being either excellent (18.4%) or good (55.3%), which marked a small increase over the 68.7% who reported the same in October of 2021.
However, more respondents expressed the belief that the quality of life in Connecticut over the last year is declining (30.8%), compared to the rate of those who reported the same in October 2021 (16.8%). In this new poll, 31.8% of surveyed residents (down from 40.4% in October 2021) reported it being either very easy (9.6%) or somewhat easy (30.8%) to maintain their standard of living out of their household income today, while 44.7% (down from 56.6% in October 2021) reported it being difficult. The frequency of respondents who indicated it was very easy or somewhat easy has decreased significantly from 40.4% in October 2021.
And in an unrelated question concerning free tuition for in-state Connecticut residents, when prompted to indicate if every student in Connecticut should be able to attend a four-year university for free, nearly one-half of the survey respondents (47.2%) agree, while 39.1% do not agree. Free tuition was supported by 88.7% of Democrats, but only 31% of Republicans.
“Connecticut residents are quite concerned about tax issues and quality-of-life standards and are looking to state government for relief,” said Steven Michels, director of the Institute for Public Policy & Civic Engagement. “Also, aligned with the current national trends, we see increased attention being paid to parental, school board or government involvement in teaching curricula and books used in public schools. Not surprisingly, political affiliation plays a large role in how respondents lean on these and other social, legal, emotional and educational issues currently affecting residents in Connecticut and across the country.”
Actual polling was conducted on behalf of the Institute in partnership with GreatBlue Research, which administered the 39-question, statewide digital survey interviewing 1,000 residents. Statistically, this sampling represents a margin for error of +/-2.53% at a 95 percent confidence level.
Sacred Heart’s Institute for Public Policy & Civic Engagement was established in 2017 in the College of Arts & Sciences. In addition to hosting national and state-wide polls, the Institute conducts community research, hosts public forums and workshops and serves as a public-policy learning incubator for students.