Matt Lesser

Sen. Lesser, Senate Democrats Call on Department of Revenue
Services to Change Interpretation of Sales Tax Application to Meals

HARTFORD, CT – Today, state Senator Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) called on the Department of Revenue Services to revise their sales tax application to meals. The Senator said the interpretation is not reflective of the legislative intent of the budget.

Full text of the letter is below:

September 16, 2019

Commissioner Scott D. Jackson
Department of Revenue Services
450 Columbus Boulevard
Hartford CT 06103

Dear Commissioner Jackson:

I am writing in reference to the recent Department of Revenue Services Policy Statement (PS 2019(5)) that was issued on September 6, 2019.

I appreciate the work of the Department of Revenue Services and believe the interpretation has gone beyond the scope intended by the legislature. This interpretation goes against the legislative intent of the new law and against the interpretation of the new law by all three of our nonpartisan offices.

As you may be aware, this language was incorporated in Raised Bill 7408 that was heard by the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on April 10, 2019 and again when it was included in the tax package that was voted out of the Finance Committee (SB 877).

It is important to ensure the department’s interpretation is reflective of the legislative intent to avoid a drastically different fiscal note from the Office of Fiscal Analysis and a significant change to our budget assumptions currently adopted.

I am joining my colleagues in the Senate Democratic Caucus in asking that DRS, in consultation with OPM, revise this Policy Statement to more accurately reflect the legislative intent that was clear to all parties during our budget negotiations.

Senator Matt Lesser