Is Aetna the next domino to fall in Connecticut?

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2016/04/08/is-aetna-the-next-domino-to-fall-in-connecticut/

Still in the rippling wake of General Electric’s January decision to move its headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut, to Boston’s Seaport District, another nationwide organization is contemplating a move from the Nutmeg State.

According to documents obtained by an open records request with the city of Boston by WCVB and The Boston Globe, the Hub is one of several cities courting Aetna insurance company, which currently is headquartered in Hartford.

As the Boston Business Journal explains:

… Boston isn’t the only one making a bid.

“Based on our interaction with Aetna, it does sound like they are beginning to get several inquiries,” wrote Krista Zalatores, chief of staff in the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, in an email to Daniel Koh, chief of staff to Mayor Martin Walsh.

The BBJ later quotes an Aetna spokesman who dodged the question of any future relocation plans.

When GE announced its intentions at the beginning of the year, NewBostonPost senior political reporter Evan Lips wrote that the move could impact the way other Connecticut businesses and residents view their home state, especially after a new budget approved last June by Gov. Dannel Malloy included a $1.5 billion net jump in corporate taxes and fees.

For the first time in its history, Connecticut now taxes corporations on their worldwide earnings, rather than simply on what they earn in-state and also imposes a 20 percent surtax on companies — meaning that their overall tax payment is now also subject to a 20 percent tax itself.

The NBP article also references a statement by the insurance giant that Lips described as “sabre-rattling.”  In it, Aetna states that, “Connecticut is in danger of damaging its economic future by failing to address its budget obligation in a responsible way.”  The statement goes on to warn, “[s]uch action will result in Aetna looking to reconsider the viability of continuing major operations in the state.”

NBPEconomic