HARTFORD - Malls and major shopping centers can offer plenty of perks to a community. But with those perks come costly strains on cities and towns, some lawmakers say. A bill in the legislature calls for giving back 0.25 percent of the 6 percent sales tax revenue to the towns in which the businesses collect the tax. For Danbury, with the largest mall in New England, that would be an increase of about $4.65 million to the city budget. While all 169 municipalities will be eligible for some funds, the biggest beneficiaries will be areas with large retail centers, which generate the most sales tax for the state."It's a really innovative way to deal with problems we all have being hosts to large box stores and the wear and tear that brings to the infrastructure," Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said. "If we are going to host the facility, we ought to have host benefits." The legislation also has implications on development and property taxes. Now all of the sales tax revenue, about $3.1 billion, is put into the state's general fund. This proposal would send about $135 million back to the cities and towns, according to the bill's co-sponsor Rep. Ryan Barry, D-Manchester, who teamed with Rep. Robert Duff, D-Norwalk, for the bill. Barry said cities with major retails centers bear an unfair burden. "I want the property tax debate to begin since towns are faced with reductions in town aid," Barry said, adding it could reduce the tax burden on local communities. He also said this legislation could curb urban sprawl. "The bottom line on this is that reliance on the property tax encourages development as the state is trying to encourage smart growth," Barry said. "This opens up the debate." Manchester, which would get $4.9 million back if the bill passed, ranks second in the state in retail sales behind Danbury. According to the state Department of Revenue Services, Danbury brought in $4.2 billion in retail sales in fiscal year 2002-03, and paid out $111.7 million in sales taxes. Manchester had $2.9 billion in retail sales. However, Manchester actually pays about $6 million more in sales taxes, thus would get slightly more back under the legislation. Duff, the other co-sponsor of the proposal, said cities such as Norwalk need relief. "In Norwalk we have a lot of big box stores and lots of traffic and low wage jobs, and isn't offering maximum tax benefits," Duff said. "We have ever increasing property taxes and this could be a general solution to the problem." Norwalk would get $3.9 million back if the legislation passed, according to the Department of Revenue Services. Other major beneficiaries, if the proposal passed, would be Hartford with $5.4 million and $6.2 million for New Haven. Rep. Lewis Wallace, D-Danbury, said similar legislation has been raised in the past, and was unsure if he could support the bill. "This issue was raised in the Blue Ribbon Commission report on property tax reform," Wallace said. "It's a simple proposal but it could have long term effects." Rep. Robert Godfrey, D-Danbury, said he would support the bill, but questions whether it would encourage smart growth. "It's a great bill," Godfrey said. "I wonder would it contribute to urban sprawl if it becomes more positive for a town to put a big box store there. I like the idea. Those are just some obstacles to deal with." Another problem, Godfrey said, is that most major retail stores consolidate their sales reports from one location. For this legislation to work, Godfrey said, each retail store would need to report sales figures town by town. "The idea is a sound one," Godfrey said. "The big problem now is that stores consolidate their sales reports. This would put in a new accounting system town by town." Godfrey said he doesn't expect the bill to pass this year. Duff actually agreed. But said he at least wanted to get lawmakers thinking about the option. "I fully expect to talk about this next session," Duff said. "But in the deficit years, we should start talking about this so we can take action on it in the surplus years." Contact Fred Lucas at email@example.com or at (203) 731-3358.