The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Ridgewood Nj, just a reminder New Jerseyans, you have to work longer than residents of every other state, except one New York to cover your tax bill and enjoy Tax Freedom Day . Its April 30th this year . This is just another sign NJ is moving in the wrong economic direction and no in Trenton cares.
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Ridgewood NJ, Josh Gottheimer and the socialist Democrats have continued to falsely vilify the GOP tax cuts that provided Americans with more money in their pockets.
And with Tax Day come and gone, there are some uncomfortable facts emerging that directly contradict Gottheimer’s bogus narrative.
Continue reading H&R Block: average tax liability nationwide was down 25 percent while refunds were up 1 percent
| the staff of the Ridgewood blog Trenton NJ, Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-39), the ranking Republican on the State Senate Judiciary Committee, sent the following letter to Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Sweeney, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin highlighting concerns regarding social justice and pending legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. |
Dear Sirs,
As a follow up to Senator Rice’s letter on April 3, 2019, please allow me to associate myself with his remarks, but I would like to add a few thoughts. Social justice is frequently cited in support of legalizing recreational marijuana in Washington and California. Legalization has, if anything, led to a greater proportion of minority incarcerations.
Continue reading Senator Gerald Cardinale Still Says NO to Dope Deal
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Trenton NJ, Governor Murphy is considering new “mileage fees” to pay for a shortfall in his infrastructure budget.
According to the state treasurer, tax revenues look like they’re falling short of this year’s $1.5 billion highway fuels revenue target. This shortfall could trigger yet another automatic gas tax hike to make up the difference.Governor Murphy described finding a new way to tax people on their travel as, finding a different mouse trap to capture the movement around this state.
Continue reading Governor Murphy is considering new “mileage fees” to pay for a shortfall in his infrastructure budget
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Trenton NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Division on Civil Rights today called on Facebook to help stem the “rising tide of hate” in New Jersey and across the nation by examining a Facebook page known as Rise Up Ocean County (RUOC).
While no doubt the Rise Up Ocean County (RUOC) has some controversial content the Attorney Generals Letter to Facebook relies on out of context remarks and clearly there are many Democrat groups in New Jersey promoting cop killers that have not illicit-ed a response from the state AG .
Right on the groups about page its states ,”Let’s start with what we are not. We are NOT anti-Semitic, in fact we welcome all faiths to our efforts and more specifically embrace our friends in the orthodox Jewish community. This is NOT about a specific religion, this is about equal treatment under the law and mutual respect for others. “
Continue reading No Sanctuary for Free Speech as Murphy Administration Tries to Shut Down Facebook Group
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Ridgewood NJ, Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) called for immediate legislative hearings in response to news of the rape and murder of a New Jersey nanny, Carolina Cano, by an illegal immigrant. This comes in the wake of the State Attorney General’s “Sanctuary State” directive, which when into effect last month:
“A nanny was brutally strangled, raped, and tossed into a New Jersey lake by someone who shouldn’t even have been in the country in the first place,” Pennacchio said. “The administration’s dangerous Sanctuary State policy encourages illegal immigrants to seek harbor within our state’s borders.
Continue reading State Attorney General’s “Sanctuary State” directive Creates Safe Harbor for Rapists and Murderers
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Ridgewood NJ, With Tax Day fast approaching and the new tax code taking effect this year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its 2019 Tax Burden by State report as well as accompanying videos, along with its 2019 Tax Facts infographic.
In order to determine which states tax their residents most aggressively, WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the three components of state tax burden — property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes — as a share of total personal income.
Tax Burden in New Jersey (1=Highest, 25=Avg.):
For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494/
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Trenton NJ, Worries about a shortfall in New Jersey’s tax revenue continue after testimony by the state treasurer before an Assembly budget panel Monday.
Revenues are $310 million below current spending levels for the fiscal year that began in July, state Treasurer Liz Muoio confirmed to lawmakers. Adjusted appropriations for the fiscal year 2019 budget totals $38 billion while revised revenues presented today are expected to be only $37.7 billion.
Continue reading Worries Spread Over New Jersey Tax Revenue Short Fall
“New Jersey has become increasingly unaffordable for most of us. This budget will make that problem much worse.”
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Trenton NJ, Jersey First President Rosemary Becchi Urges Legislature to Act on Pension & Benefits Reform during Assembly Budget Hearings
Jersey First President Rosemary Becchi testified against the adoption of Gov. Murphy’s proposed 2020 Fiscal Year Budget today, urging the Assembly Budget Committee to first grapple with the root causes of New Jersey’s financial crisis and end policies that are forcing families and businesses to move out of the state.
Continue reading Jersey First President Rosemary Becchi , “The financial problems with New Jersey’s government finances are rooted largely in the state’s largest liability, the state pension system”
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Trenton NJ, Today, the New Jersey legislature passed A-1524/S-1500, similar measures which limit civic engagement and undermine free speech for all New Jerseyans. Specifically, this measure, which Governor Murphy has indicated he will sign, requires nonprofit organizations to disclose the names and addresses of their donors, creates a broad definition for independent expenditures, and makes it more difficult for organizations to engage in issue advocacy that informs the public.
Continue reading NJ Legislature Takes Aim at Free Speech
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Trenton NJ , In response to news reports detailing the deportation of an illegal immigrant wanted for murder in El Salvador, Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) released the following statement condemning the State Attorney General’s “sanctuary state” directive, which went into effect this week:
“Illegals that commit horrendous crimes are finding refuge in New Jersey and today’s news report of a murderer who was deported proves that,” Pennacchio said. “This killer was hiding out in Newark. Fortunately, federal authorities deported him back to his home country so he can be tried for aggravated murder and associating with criminal organizations. The recent implementation of Attorney General’s ‘sanctuary state’ directive is putting New Jersey communities at risk and it is putting our families in danger. We must fight back.”
Continue reading NJ’s ‘Sanctuary State Directive’ Protects Dangerous Criminals
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Trenton NJ, Acting to improve health care access for New Jersey residents, Governor Murphy today announced that the State of New Jersey will move to a State-Based Health Exchange for the year 2021 .
Transitioning to a State-Based Exchange (SBE) will give the state more control over the open enrollment period; access to data that can be used to better regulate the market, conduct targeted outreach and inform policy decisions; and allow user fees to fund exchange operations, consumer assistance, outreach and advertising. By redirecting the assessment on premiums, currently paid to the federal government to utilize a Federally-Facilitated Exchange (FFE), New Jersey can operate an exchange that is tailored and efficient for New Jersey residents.
Continue reading Phil Murphy Rolls Out “Murphycare”
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Trenton NJ , Following the first public hearing on Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed 2020 budget Wednesday, Assemblyman John DiMaio, the Republican budget officer, spoke about the state’s strain for cash and how high taxes are making life more difficult, not better, for New Jerseyans.
“One of the things that’s gone off the rails a little bit in New Jersey is we now tax more. We take money away from people and then volunteer groups and certain groups that benefit other individuals don’t get the money they used to get from donors,” said DiMaio (R-Warren). “We see people from all different interests. A lot of these groups are more volunteer in nature and they’re looking for funding.”
Continue reading Murphy’s budget is a “voodoo science”
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ROSELAND, N.J. – Governor Murphy’s proposed budget will make the state’s economy worse over the long term, according to 70 percent of nearly 500 New Jersey CPAs polled by the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) earlier this month. More than 38 percent of respondents said the state’s economy would become “significantly worse” and 32 percent said it would become “marginally worse.” Only 12 percent said it would be better and 17 percent said it would “stay the same.”
Of those who responded negatively, most cited Governor Murphy not focusing enough on the amount of spending on public pension benefits in New Jersey in his budget proposal; high property taxes for both residents and businesses in the state; and implementation of the millionaire’s tax.
Continue reading 70 Percent of New Jersey CPAs Polled Say Governor Murphy’s Proposed Budget Will Make NJ’s Economy Worse
NJBIA Statement on Signing of Stormwater Tax Legislation
NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Ray Cantor issued the following statement regarding the signing of bill S-1073 today by Governor Murphy. The new law allows municipalities and counties to create authorities to impose fees on residential and commercial property owners based on the amount of their impervious surfaces.
“This law adds yet another tax on our already overburdened residents and businesses, though there is no language to define how much people will be charged, how the funds will be collected or how the funds generated by it will actually address stormwater issues.
“This legislation essentially creates a new, non-deductible property tax on the public and another bureaucratic expense at the local level. Churches and non-profits, as well as residents and businesses, will all be susceptible to these added fees based on their patios, parking lots, driveways and roofs.
“Potentially, 565 individual municipalities could charge fees within their own boundaries without having to consider how sewerage systems and stormwater in neighboring towns affect their projects. A county could also decide to have a stormwater authority, potentially forcing property owners to deal with two bureaucracies and fees for the same property.
“Further, this law will be extremely difficult to administer. It will require an analysis of each property in a town, credits for existing facilities, and credits for how well you maintain a facility. There is no certainty on how much can be collected and no stated appeals process.
NJBIA understands the needs to address non-point source pollution, flooding and infrastructure needs. There are mechanisms already in place around the state to address the intent of this legislation. With this law, however, only the costs – and not the results – will be certain.”
