A bill that would create a new tax credit for Connecticut employers that offer student loan repayment assistance has been signed into law. Wilton Senator Will Haskell says the goal is to relieve recent graduates from student loan debt and retain the state’s next generation of workers.

Individuals who refinanced their student debt through the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority would be eligible.  Employers making loan payments directly to state loan authorities, starting in 2022, can claim a credit equal to half of the payments they make during any given year. 

A qualified employee must be working at least 35 hours per week at a Connecticut company, and lived in the state at least five years since graduating college.  The 22-year-old freshman lawmaker says the nation’s student debut crisis is at a breaking point and that they need to come up with creative solutions for problems like these.  He says this kind of strategy – which supports both employers and employees – will help. 

Connecticut Realtors testified in support of the bill saying first-time homebuyers are delayed in making a purchase an average of seven years in large part due to student loan debt.