After taking office, with a projected $2.4 billion deficit, Weicker reversed himself and pushed for the adoption of an income tax, a move that was severely unpopular. He stated, "My policy when I came in was no income tax, but that fell apart on the rocks of fiscal fact." Weicker vetoed three budgets that did not contain an income tax, and forced a partial government shutdown, before the General Assembly narrowly passed it in 1991. The 1991 budget set the income tax rate at 6%, lowered the sales tax from 8% to 6% while expanding its base, reduced the corporate tax to 10.5% over two years, and eliminated taxes on capital gains, interest, and dividends. It also included $1.2 billion in line-by-line budget cuts, including the elimination of state aid to private and parochial schools, but held the line on social programs. His drastic measures provoked controversy. A huge protest rally in Hartford attracted some 40,000 participants, some of whom cursed at and spat at Governor Weicker. The Assembly attempted to pass a measure repealing the broad-based income tax, which he vetoed, and the override of a veto fell one vote short.