Connecticut Coupon Users May Have to Pay Taxes on Full Purchase Price

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy announced yesterday he wants coupon users to pay sales tax on the full price of their purchases. Sounds like yet another state legislator trying to gouge the public in a new and improved way.

Here’s how it works: Let’s say you’re a fan of extreme couponing and purchase $250 worth of dry goods for $12.50. You hand the clerk $15 and expect change, but not so fast. The cash register keeps beeping as it computes the taxes on $250 worth of merchandise.

Malloy also wants to slap a tax exemption on services and vehicle trade-ins.

Try this: The legislation also would tax consumers on the original price of a discounted product. For example, the tax would be imposed on the full $1,050 price of a plasma television, not the $850 you convinced the manager to take.

Governor Malloy isn’t about to earn himself any votes with this and several other ugly measures his government is contemplating to deal with the state’s huge budget shortfall. According to Connecticut Budget Chief Benjamin Barnes, “Every single one of those, however many, 20-odd taxes is a new tax and it sucks. I don’t know how to hide it. These are new taxes.”

Food items would continue to be exempt from sales tax in the eastern state, but Connecticut would still see a projected $92 million increase in revenue over two years.

In short, Malloy wants to tax you on money you don’t spend.