Connecticut

Florida Governor Visiting to Convince Connecticut Businesses to Move Out of State

“The business environment in Connecticut simply cannot compete with everything Florida has to offer"

The governor of Florida will be in Connecticut next week to convince businesses to move their operations to his state announced Thursday in a press statement on the state website.

The trip for Gov. Rick Scott to Connecticut stems from an $85 million Florida Job Growth Grant, which is meant to attract businesses to set up shop in Florida. 

“The business environment in Connecticut simply cannot compete with everything Florida has to offer. That is why I am leading an economic development mission to Connecticut to share this message firsthand with job creators and site selectors next week,"  Scott announced.

Scott said Florida has "cut more than $6.7 billion in taxes, reduced 4,800 burdensome regulations."

"Governor Malloy’s administration has been trying, and failing, to tackle a budget deficit with an overwhelming collection of increased taxes and fees. Their job growth rate continues to lag far behind Florida and the nation, and Connecticut has lost more adjusted gross income and people to Florida than any other state in the nation," Scott said.

General Electric left Fairfield for Boston last year and Aetna recently announced that it will be moving its headquarters out of Connecticut as well.

This isn't the first time Florida Governor Scott has targeted businesses in Connecticut. In June 2015, he met with business owners in Connecticut that had previously threatened to leave the state because of proposed tax increases.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's office responded to Scott's announcement of trying to lure Connecticut businesses to Florida:

"It's no wonder that Governor Scott would look to Connecticut and be envious of what we have here. We foster a high quality of life, schools that are among the best in the nation, an incredibly skilled and knowledgeable workforce, and we're home to some of the best employers in the world," he said in the statement.

"The truth is, no amount of money or effort will make up for the fact that Gov. Scott is leading his state in the wrong direction. We are happy to host Mr. Scott to show him a better way to serve his state, but if he's expecting anyone in Connecticut to buy what he's selling, he's better off saving his taxpayers the cost of the trip and staying home," the statement said.

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