file photo by Boyd Loving
June 1 2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, a recent poll published in the Ridgewood blog found that barely 50 percent of New Jersey residents thought the state was a good place to live. The state has the worst business climate in the nation, and residents pay the highest average property tax bill.
For his part Governor Phil Murphy’s first executive budget promises to make the state even more unwelcoming by crushing Jersey families and businesses with over $1.5 billion in new taxes and fees.
That figure totals more than 4 percent of the state budget. It will be a mammoth tax increase on people who cannot afford it.
The $1.5 billion-plus tax hike facing New Jerseyans includes:
$765 million millionaire’s tax hike.Increasing tax on income over $1M from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent . A millionaire’s tax would be added, just as the Governor complains about new limits on state and local tax deductions hurting wealthy residents – a reminder he’s concerned about milking these folks for revenue, not about reducing their tax burden.
$581 million sales tax hike. Sales tax increased to 7 percent. Adding sales tax on Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb Expanding Internet sales tax beyond New Jersey’s borders.
$59 million from new tax on vaping products, and hike on tobacco products.75 percent wholesale tax on e-cigarettes. Increasing wholesale tax on tobacco products to 68 percent
In a $100 million carried interest money grab , the Murphy budget also includes a “fee” (actually a tax) on carried interest. There is no carried interest “loophole”, but either way that is a debate about the federal code, it’s not a state issue. It’s an insult to peoples’ intelligence to sell them on a tax hike with inaccurate “loophole” talk.
Yesterday Murphy even reintroduced the failed individual mandate tax for New Jersey as Murphycare .
And of coarse just in time for the summer driving season an increase in the gas tax is on the table .
