03/13/09 Governor Rell Is Crossing The Line By Taxing Shell Fishermen Like Ed Stilwagen Out Of Bussiness

Really Poor Thinking: Misguided Conneticut Govenor Has Is Flushing A Traditional Greenwich Industry Down The Toilet

Last Year Greenwich Lost One Of Two Of It's Working Farms And Now Jody Rell Is Going To Wipe Out Our Greenwich Shell Fisher Man.....

This Helps Jody And Hurts Greenwich

Locals believe Rell's proposed tax is a bit fishy
Westport News

State Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) met last Thursday with local shellfishermen at Norm Bloom & Sons -- a Norwalk-based shellfishing operation that has harvested oysters and clams for three generations -- to speak out against Gov. M. Jodi Rell's proposal to charge commercial shellfishermen $1 for every bushel of shellfish harvested.....

....."This is an unfair and aggressive tax on the shellfish industry that could cost many people their jobs," Duff said. "These people work hard, play by the rules, get their hands dirty and make an honest living. They are our neighbors We are going to fight for our oystermen, lobstermen and shellfishermen."

Duff also explained that the proposal misfires because it would tax shell fishermen $1 on the bushel -- a unit of measurement now largely outdated. Most orders from restaurants and other businesses now come in the form of shellfish counts.....

.....Ed Stilwagen, of Atlantic Clam Farms of Greenwich, harvests from about 2,500 acres in Greenwich waters......

Stilwagen, like Duff, explained the tax would be inappropriate because of the variation possible in sizing up a bushel.

"It's basically an unenforceable tax," he said, explaining that confusion would arise at local docks between state officials and shellfishermen as to how many bushels, exactly, any given harvest might entail. Those types of circumstances could result in millions of dollars in litigation costs and could negate profits the state might accumulate from the tax, Stilwagen said.....

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