January 6,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fair Lawn NJ , Apparently the “Tax the Rich” philosophy of New Jersey lawmakers only applies to when Trenton taxes the rich and not anyone else . The “Taxing the Rich” mantra has driven the state to fiscal suicide and has become a euphemism for taxing everyone on everything .
Today, in a desperate last ditch attempt to prop up Trenton, Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Governor-elect Phil Murphy have joined together to offer a new Tax Plan for New Jersey. Murphy and Gottheimer’s “Hail Mary” Tax Bill looks to restore State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction by providing a tax deduction for taxpayers who make charitable contributions to their state or other local governments.
The two will be joined by Congressman Bill Pascrell and the mayors of Fair Lawn, Paramus and Park Ridge who all expressed support for the plan and their eagerness to implement it, with state support, in their communities. The Tax Hike Bill took a two-by-four to the State of New Jersey, gutting the State and Local Deduction (SALT), sharply limiting New Jersey’s property tax deductions, and imposing a massive Tax Hike on Jersey families and businesses. The Tax Hike Bill was largely paid for on the backs of New Jersey taxpayers and, according to experts, will bring property values down by as much as twenty percent and send businesses and jobs to other states.
Plan restores the value of the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction by providing a tax deduction for taxpayers who make charitable contributions to their state or other local governments. States and local governments can establish or support funds that pay for local services, including schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure. Taxpayers can make “voluntary contributions” to these funds, for which they will receive an offsetting tax credit. The contributions will be deductible for federal tax purposes under existing law, even for those who pay the alternative minimum tax. This structure effectively restores the benefit of the lost state and local tax deduction to the extent of the contributions for most taxpayers who itemize.
The plan also does not to restore any level of fiscal sanity to the state on New Jersey .
