Tag: high taxes

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Syrian refugees are now fleeing New Jersey because of high cost of living, low quality housing, high taxes and safety concerns

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July 25,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Syrian refugees recently placed in New Jersey Democrat run strongholds , are now fleeing the state because of high cost of living, low quality housing, high taxes and safety concerns, NorthJersey.com reports.

At Ktuf is a Syrian refugee who arrived in the United States in the summer of 2016, and planning on leaving New Jersey for Michigan next month. Ktuf told NorthJersey.com the reason she is leaving New Jersey for Michigan: “Over there, you can dream of buying a house, but here you can’t. Costs are so high, and taxes are so high.”

Ktuf’s brother in law moved to Dearborn last month, and was able to find a home with four bedrooms, a backyard and a garage for $1,200 a month.
Mohammad Hial is one of seven Syrian refugees telling the paper they are leaving or planning on leaving New Jersey this summer. Hial left New Jersey for Michigan last week. “This state (New Jersey) is very expensive,” Hial stated

The sanctuary state of New Jersey also presents other disadvantages .Sikander Khan, who head’s Global Emergency Response and Assistance said in addition to economic reasons, “Syrians are leaving Patterson because of safety concerns.”

Nour, a Syrian refugee who left the country after civil war broke out, was interviewed by The Bergen Record, but asked to only be identified by his first name for “safety concerns.” Last month Nour was hit over the head with a metal pipe and robbed of $2,800. Nour told caseworkers, he was “considering moving to Turkey because of crime.” Nour added his two daughters, 14 and 16, “no longer want to leave the apartment.”

Of the seven families interviewed, five are headed to Michigan. As refugees, where many Syrians are eligible for rent assistance for up to 24 months. It looks like after the rent assistance runs out, many Syrians are not happy with Democratic stronghold New Jersey, and fleeing to other states with better opportunities.

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NJGOP has Harsh Words on Murphy’s State Shutdown

Phill Murphy -Sara Medina del Castillo

June 30,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ , As New Jersey’s state government approaches what seems to be an inevitable shut down, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt released the following statement:

“As Democrat politicians in Trenton paralyze important government services fighting over what taxes to raise, the people of New Jersey are struggling to understand why their representatives aren’t working out a way to take New Jersey in the other direction and reduce the tax burden. Governor Murphy and the Democrats in Trenton have carried on a completely partisan process that has led us to this point. Governor Murphy calls this a high cost for high return state, but on one of the busiest weekends of the year, New Jerseyans can expect zero return for their highest in the country taxes. The NJGOP will carry this memory, in great detail, into every Election Day until we have reasonable representation minding our tax dollars.”

Following reports regarding a letter from New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal that a state government shutdown would force horse tracks to shut their doors, U.S. Senate candidate Bob Hugin issued the following statement:

“Governor Murphy and his Attorney General should stop playing politics and using New Jersey’s businesses, employees, and the thousands of people planning to celebrate their holiday weekend as pawns in his misguided effort to hike taxes,” said Hugin. “Instead of doubling down on failed policies that have made New Jersey unaffordable for residents, families, and businesses, Governor Murphy should work with the legislature to provide tax relief and create an environment that allows our businesses to thrive and prosper.”

Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso echoed Hugin’s comments.

“Governor Murphy should stop playing politics by threatening New Jersey’s businesses with a government shutdown over his misguided plan to hike taxes on our residents,” said DiMaso. “What he should be doing is working to provide tax relief for hard-working New Jerseyans and focusing on policies that allow our businesses to thrive.”

 

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New Jersey Population Sinks for the First Time in a Decade

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September 16,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New estimates from the American Community Survey which is billed as the premier source for detailed information about the American people and workforce , suggest New Jersey lost about 13,000 people from 2015 to 2016, which would reverse several years of slow growth since the state was decimated by the housing crisis in the mid-to-late-2000s.

If this holds New Jersey may have lost population for the first time in a decade .  Household formation is one of the key economic drivers . A loss of population could lead to further economic stagnation, a reduced tax base and a potential loss of a congressional district.

While many debate the issue analysis by NJ Advance Media (NJ.COM) shows about 226,000 people moved out of the state between 2015 and 2016, about 30,000 less than the total who moved to the Garden States from within the country and abroad.

With a historically low birth rate, New Jersey’s growth in recent years has hinged upon immigration . However the number of people leaving keeps growing, stagnating the state’s population on the cusp of nine million.

Poll after poll list New Jersey as the state most people want to leave . High taxes, particularly property taxes, estate taxes , high cost of living , state corruption and limited job opportunities  are all sighted as reasons to flee New Jersey.

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37 percent of people in N.J. are among the working poor, study says

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By Stephen Stirling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 16, 2017 at 7:30 AM, updated January 16, 2017 at 7:53 AM

Charlene O’Brian doesn’t want help.

The 38-year-old single mother of two has built her life on being a strong, independent woman. The Hardyston divorcee has a full-time job training educators, which she balances with raising her 7 and 10 year-old boys, the latter of which has special needs. In her spare time she runs and designs grueling obstacle courses, the kind that make even the biggest fitness buff think twice.

But O’Brian knows today she needs help. She just doesn’t know where to turn to get it.

“It doesn’t make me feel good. It’s been a struggle,” O’Brian said. “But it makes me want to make a difference.”

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/01/37_percent_of_people_in_nj_are_among_the_working_poor_study_says.html?ath=9c46bfc08d76232bb5a5e00eeaf0bfa2#cmpid=nsltr_stryheadline

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Gottheimer/Clinton tax plan will Hit Bergen County Residents Especially Hard

Joshua S

August 23,2016

the staff of the Ridwood blog

Ridgewood NJ, As a professional political operative, Josh Gottheimer knows how to lie to voters in order to get what he wants. He helped Bill Clinton do it for years.

Now, Josh Gottheimer is lying to Fifth District voters about being a “fiscal conservative ” ,when in reality, he supports Hillary’s extreme tax agenda.

This is an agenda that will hit residents of the Fifth District even harder than average Americans . Bergen County already ranks #17 in the country in taxes paid out of 3,007 counties nationwide. The average amount in taxes paid per Bergen County resident is $17,889 and the Gottheimer/Clinton Tax plan will make that number even higher.

Gottheimer learned to lie from the best . Voters may remember that then Senator Hillary Clinton pledged she would not raise taxes on the middle class, then voted repeatedly to do so, including voting in favor of raising taxes on individuals earning as little as $41,500.

The Clintons expect loyalty from those they’ve helped, so will Josh Gottheimer do what he’s always done, and advance the wishes of his biggest patrons by supporting Clinton’s tax plan.

Clinton’s tax plan is bad for Fifth District voters. It means less money in our wallets, less money for our retirement accounts, and fewer job opportunities.

The Tax Foundation has data on what the Gottheimer/Clinton tax plan has in store for voters, and it’s not good:

Table 1. Tax Brackets under Hillary Clinton’s Tax Plan
Ordinary Income Capital Gains and Dividends Single Filers Married Filers Head of Household
10% 0% $0 to $9,275 $0 to $18,550 $0 to $13,250
15% 0% $9,275 to $37,650 $18,550 to $75,300 $13,250 to $50,400
25% 15% $37,650 to $91,150 $75,300 to $151,900 $50,400 to $130,150
28% 15% $91,150 to $190,150 $151,900 to $231,450 $130,150 to $210,800
33% 15% $190,150 to $413,350 $231,450 to $413,350 $210,800 to $413,350
35% 15% $413,350 to $415,050 $413,350 to $466,950 $413,350 to $441,000
39.6% 20% $415,050 to $5 million $466,950 to $5 million $441,000 to $5 million
43.6% 24% $5 million and above $5 million and above $5 million and above
  • Enacts the “Buffett Rule,” which would establish a 30 percent minimum tax on taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) over $1 million – this hurts job-creating small businesses in the Fifth District.
  • Caps all itemized deductions at a tax value of 28 percent.
  • Adjusts the schedule for long-term capital gains by raising rates on medium-term capital gains to between 27.8 percent and 47.4 percent (Table 2).

 

Table 2. Top Marginal Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rate Schedule under Hillary Clinton’s Tax Plan
Years Held Marginal Tax Rate Net Investment Income Tax Surtax on incomes over $5 million Combined Rate on Capital Gains
Less than One 39.6% 3.8% 4% 47.4%
One to Two 39.6% 3.8% 4% 47.4%
Two to Three 36% 3.8% 4% 43.8%
Three to Four 32% 3.8% 4% 39.8%
Four to Five 28% 3.8% 4% 35.8%
Five to Six 24% 3.8% 4% 31.8%
More than Six 20% 3.8% 4% 27.8%
  • Limits the total value of tax-deferred and tax-free retirement accounts.*
  • Taxes carried interest at ordinary income tax rates instead of capital gains and dividends tax rates.*

 

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New Jersey: The least liked state in America

GSP

file photo by Boyd Loving
New Jersey is the only state which Americans tend to have an unfavorable opinion of

As America prepares to celebrate its 239th birthday this Saturday, YouGov compiled a ‘State of the States’, asking Americans how they feel about each and every state that forms our country.
This research shows that New Jersey is the only state in the country which people tend to have a negative opinion of. 40% of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of New Jersey while 30% have a favorable opinion of the state, giving the state a net favorability rating of -10%. In contrast, Alabama, the second least popular state in the country, has a net favorability rating of +8%, as 39% of Americans have a favorable view of Alabama and 31% have an unfavorable opinion. After Alabama the least popular states are Illinois (+9%), Mississippi (+9%) and Indiana (+12%).
Hawaii is the most popular state in the union with a net favorability rating of +56%, with 67% of Americans having a favorable view of the state and only 11% having an unfavorable opinion. Hawaii is followed by Montana (+43%), Wyoming (+42%), Alaska (+42%) and Maine (+42%).

https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/07/01/new-jersey-least-liked-state-america/

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New Jersey’s High Taxes and Anti Business climate have curtailed philanthropic giving

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nj senate president steven sweeney

Americans for Prosperity: Benevolence, The Latest Victim of NJ’s High Taxes

New Jersey Ranks 46th in the Nation for Charitable Giving

Ridgewood NJ,  New Jersey’s confiscatory tax climate is responsible for the highest property taxes and worst business climate in the country, but it is also having another deleterious effect. Today, New Jersey ranks among the least philanthropic states in the country according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

“The season of giving is upon us, yet how sad is it that New Jersey has reached the point where people can no longer afford to be as generous as they would like to be because of high taxes,” remarked AFP state director Erica Jedynak. “We might as well refer to our income tax as the anti-benevolence tax.”

The ALEC report, State Factor: The Effect of State Taxes on Charitable Giving, examined data from 1997-2012 and revealed an inverse correlation between taxes and charitable giving. As stated in the report’s conclusion, “[I]ndividuals in states with high taxes donate less and individuals in states with lower taxes donate more.” New Jersey placed 43rd on ALEC’s list for the period 1997-2012 and 46th for the period of 2008-2012.

“As Ronald Reagan said, ‘the spirit of voluntary giving [is] ingrained in the American character.’ So it is with New Jerseyans of good will who would no doubt love to give more to causes they care about and to help those who are impoverished or sick,” said Jedynak.

“Yet, instead of being able to donate more to causes that dispense charity with a warm heart and lift people up, their hard-earned money is filtering through the cold hands of bureaucracy and ensnaring people in dependency.”

“There is little compassion in that, and it’s just one more reason we need ease the tax burden on New Jersey families.”

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Is O’Toole selling Out?

Senator_Kevin_OToole_theridgewoodblog

Sweeney, O’Toole Discuss Bipartisanship in Newark

It seems that South Jersey-based Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) is continuing his charm offensive in the northern part of the state as he continues to angle for a likely 2017 gubernatorial run. Today, Sweeney joined Republican Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-40) for an event at Newark’s North Ward Center to honor O’Toole for his dedication to the mission of the center: to help underserved populations. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more

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New Jersey’s Anti Business Climate Strikes again : State lost 26,100 jobs in two months

Alantic City

New Jersey lost 26,100 jobs in June and July, the state’s worst two-month loss since the spring of 2009 at the end of the recession, nearly wiping out all the gains for the year.
Hugh R. Morley, The Record Read more

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Tired of high taxes? Maybe it’s time to move

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file photo by Boyd Loving

CNBC data analysis shows outbound flow from high-tax states.

John W. Schoen | @johnwschoen

Everyone complains about taxes. But millions of American households apparently are doing something about it: Picking up and moving.

A CNBC analysis of tax data and figures provided by two major national moving companies shows that states with the highest per-capita taxes, for the most part, are also seeing the biggest net migration out of those states.

Take Connecticut, for example.

Earlier this week, the Nutmeg State’s legislature approved a collection of new taxes to close a two-year, $40 billion budget to help pay the multibillion-dollar tab to repair and replace the state’s dilapidated roads and bridges. The package includes a 50-cent-per-pack hike in cigarette taxes and a bump in tax rates on corporations and the state’s wealthiest earners.

The budget battle drew heated debate, along with threats from large employers like General Electric, which issued a rare statement that it might consider moving its Fairfield headquarters.

Republican opponents warned that the tax hikes would likely drive residents to flee to lower-tax states. One legislator suggested that a local moving-and-storage company up for sale should do a booming business moving households from the state.

“I think the best buy in Connecticut right now is a business for sale in Westport,” Michael A. McLachlan, R-Danbury, told the AP earlier this month as the debate wore on. “For $650,000, a sharp investor can get up and increase this business into a mega moving company, because that’s what people are going to be doing, starting today.”

https://www.cnbc.com/id/102748599

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Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin ,” the blame for the Izod Center closure on “failed Democratic policies”

Bob_Yudin4

Bob_Yudin4

Yudin strikes back at Stellato over Izod Center closure vote

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin ,” the blame for the Izod Center closure on  “failed Democratic policies”

After getting shellacked by Bergen County Democratic Chairman Lou Stellato for his January 15 vote to close the Izod Center at the Meadowlands Complex in his capacity as a board commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin struck back at Stellato, laying the blame for the Izod Center closure on both circumstances and “failed Democratic policies.” (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Yudin strikes back at Stellato over Izod Center closure vote | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

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Another Company looks to leave High Tax Bergen County

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Another Company looks to leave High Tax Bergen County 

Mercedes-Benz reportedly weighing move to Atlanta from Montvale

DECEMBER 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014, 10:24 PM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is looking to move its 1,000-employee North American headquarters from Montvale to Atlanta, several sources said Tuesday.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle first reported on Tuesday that Mercedes-Benz USA is considering the move. A company spokesman declined to comment on the report, but several sources told The Record that Mercedes-Benz was indeed considering leaving Bergen County. One source within the company told The Record that an announcement on a move may come in January, at a company reception.

“As a matter of policy, the company does not comment on rumors or speculation,” said Mercedes-Benz spokesman Rob Moran.

If the reports are accurate, Mercedes-Benz would be the latest in a string of major companies to move their corporate headquarters from Bergen County to the South. The car-rental company Hertz moved from Park Ridge to south Florida, and the BubbleWrap maker Sealed Air is moving from Elmwood Park to Charlotte, N.C., both with the help of tax incentives from those states.

Montvale would be losing its second-largest private employer, behind the accounting giant KPMG, according to the Bergen County Economic Development Corp. Mercedes-Benz is among the top 10 corporate employers in the county and paid $916,700 in local taxes on its properties this year, according to the borough’s website.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/mercedes-benz-reportedly-weighing-move-to-atlanta-from-montvale-1.1157006

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Economist says ‘enormous’ N.J.-vs.-U.S. economic gap widening

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Economist says ‘enormous’ N.J.-vs.-U.S. economic gap widening

DECEMBER 17, 2014    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

* Gap between state, U.S. job gains widens, Rutgers economist says

New Jersey’s employment problems may be structural, because of factors that include the decline of key industries and the shift away from suburban corporate campuses, and are unlikely to dramatically improve even as the national economic picture brightens, Rutgers University economists said Tuesday.

The gap between the national job-creation performance and New Jersey’s is actually widening, as the national jobs market strengthens and New Jersey’s flounders, said Nancy Mantell, director of the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service, which compiles an economic forecast for the state.

Mantell’s comments, made in New Brunswick at the economic forum organized by R/ECON every six months, offered a dose of grim reality to the hopes that New Jersey’s economy would bounce back as the nation’s does.

The R/ECON predictions came as New Jersey prepares to release the employment figures for November on Thursday. The state lost 4,500 jobs in October, and the jobless rate of 6.6 percent remains above the national rate of 5.8 percent.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/slow-n-j-recovery-seen-1.1159092

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Companies find other ways to move offshore and avoid U.S. taxes

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Companies find other ways to move offshore and avoid U.S. taxes

AUGUST 31, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY ZACHARY R. MIDER
BLOOMBERG NEWS
THE RECORD

* Some firms have left the U.S. system not through inversions but through buyouts by investment funds

NEW YORK — There’s more than one way for a U.S. company to avoid taxes by claiming a foreign address.

Consider the business founded in 1916 as General Plate Co., a maker of sensors and controls for everything from Fords and Frigidaires to the spaceship that first carried Americans to the moon. While its top executives are still based in Attleboro, Mass., it’s now known as Sensata Technologies Holding NV of the Netherlands.

Sensata didn’t become Dutch by using the strategy known as “inversion” that has alarmed President Obama and that the U.S. Treasury Department and some Democrats in Congress are trying to curb. That technique, which involves reincorporating overseas without a change in majority ownership, has helped more than 40 U.S. companies lower their tax bills.

Instead, Sensata is one of at least 13 firms that have left the U.S. tax system through a sale to an investment fund, according to a tally by Bloomberg News. Although these companies have a combined market value of about $75 billion, this tax-avoidance strategy has gotten less attention in Washington than inversions and may be harder to discourage.

These buyouts mean profits for the U.S. private equity firms like Boston-based Bain Capital that orchestrated them. Bain earned more than $3 billion after it took Sensata public as a Dutch company in 2010, with an effective tax rate about one-tenth of some competing manufacturers.

Shifting to a foreign tax domicile “is looked at hard in every private equity deal,” said Joan Arnold, a tax partner at Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia. “They will be interested in what they can do to minimize taxes and maximize sale price.”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/tax-avoiders-get-creative-1.1078561#sthash.j4QYTjZn.dpuf

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Garden State in dismal state

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file photo Boyd Loving

Garden State in dismal state
GREG DAVID 
JULY 6, 2014 12:01 A.M.

Chris Christie certainly has his troubles these days. A decline in tax revenue left him with a big hole in the budget for the just-ended fiscal year, which he closed by not making a big payment to the state’s beleaguered pension fund. His transportation-improvement fund is depleted, forcing him into maneuvers to grab Port Authority money to fix the Pulaski Skyway.

The list could go on, but the cause of all these woes is the same: a very poor economy. It’s why the governor doesn’t talk about the New Jersey miracle anymore.

The best way to compare economies these days is by their performance during the long and mostly painful recovery from the Great Recession. That’s what I have done for New Jersey, New York state and New York City in the chart accompanying this column. (The story would be the same if I compared Mr. Christie’s state with the country as a whole.)

 New JerseyNew YorkNew York City
Jobs lost in recession257,900330,200140,800
As percentage of all jobs6.3%3.7%3.7%
Jobs regained100,300524,600374,900
Percentage of lost jobs regained39%159%266%
Jobless rate peak9.7%8.9%10.0%
Jobless rate now6.8%6.7%7.9%
GDP 2010$493.2 billion$1,182.9 billion$509.1 billion
GDP in 2013$509.1 billion$1,226.7 billion$626.1 billion
Gain in GDP3.2%3.7%7.0%
Personal income growth14.2%15.3%12.7%
Change in home price from peak-20.1%0.0%Not available

Jobs and unemployment numbers are from peak month to lowest month to May and are seasonally adjusted. State jobs and unemployment numbers are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. New York City jobs numbers are from independent economist Barbara Byrne Denham; unemployment rates from state Labor Department regional data. State GDP and personal income numbers are from Bureau of Economic Analysis. NYC GDP from city comptroller’s office. City personal income numbers from Office of Management and Budget February financial plan. Housing index from Corelogic from peak prices to April.

It isn’t a pretty picture. New Jersey has regained only a little more than a third of the jobs lost in the recession, and its GDP and personal-income growth is subpar. Housing prices are a particular problem. Only the decline in unemployment is a positive sign.

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140706/BLOGS01/140709942/garden-state-in-dismal-state#