By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 04, 2016 at 5:16 PM, updated October 04, 2016 at 7:52 PM
TRENTON — With the state Legislature poised to approve a 23-cent-a-gallon increase in the gas tax Wednesday — along with a decrease in the sales tax and the elimination of the estate tax — budget analysts and consumer advocates complained bitterly on Tuesday that the average New Jerseyan would pay a lot more at the pump while getting little in the way of tax breaks.
Various efforts by the governor and legislative leaders to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund have repeatedly brought these groups together to warn that the tax cuts will benefit a relatively few wealthy residents while undermining such Democratic priorities as environmental oversight, funds for education and aid for the state’s poorer residents.
The latest tax plan, the result of negotiations between Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, and Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly, eliminates the estate tax, raises the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor, eliminates taxes on much pension and retirement income, slightly reduces the sales tax and creates a tax break for veterans.
The 23-cent-per-gallon increase on gasoline sold in the state will finance an eight-year, $16 billion transportation program that will draw another $16 billion in federal matching dollars.
Ridgewood NJ, late Friday while all eyes were on the Hoboken Train tragedy and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Governor Christie, Senate President Sweeney and Speaker Prieto reached a tentative agreement to finance the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).A special legislative session will be called next week to ratify this agreement so it is subject to change.
The following are some of the details that have emerged :
0.23-cent gasoline tax increase…bringing total to 37.5 cent/gallon tax on gasoline
Sales tax cut: On 1/1/17, the sales tax will go from 7% to 6.875% and in 2018 to 6.625%.
Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor to 35 percent of the federal benefit amount beginning in tax year 2016
Tax Savings for Retirees: Increase the New Jersey gross income tax exclusion on pension and retirement income over four years to $100,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for individuals and $50,000 for married/filing separately
Eliminate the Estate Tax: Phase out the estate tax over the next 15 months, replacing the current $675,000 threshold with a $2 million exclusion after January 1, 2017 and eliminating the estate tax altogether as of January 1, 2018
Tax Savings for Veterans: Provide a personal exemption on state income taxes for all New Jersey veterans honorably discharged from active service in the military or the National Guard.
Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie announced his enactment of Executive Order 213, with the State Transportation Trust Fund Authority days away from exhausting all of its available funds.
“No evident progress has been made by the Legislature to pass a single, viable bill to reauthorize the TTFA,” Governor Christie stated. “A well-maintained transportation infrastructure is essential to the operation of New Jersey’s economy and the people who rely upon it in all aspects of their daily lives. The current situation will persist until the Senate and the General Assembly pass an acceptable TTFA funding bill. Until they do so, the State must use money from the General Fund for emergency road, bridge, and mass transportation work.”
Under Executive Order 213, attached, the state Treasurer is directed to make available general funds for expenses determined to be absolutely essential for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the State of New Jersey, or that are required to ensure the receipt of federal funding, in accordance with Executive Order 210, until the Governor determines an emergency no longer exists.
A statewide freeze on transportation projects is likely to stretch into the fall and past the November elections, dealing a blow to a state packed with commuters, Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Tuesday. Salvador Rizzo, The Record Read more
Letter from Former DOT Commissioner Fox Confirms New Jersey’s Spending $2 Million Per Mile on Roads
JUL 29, 2016 BY AFP
Americans for Prosperity: Letter from Former DOT Commissioner Fox Confirms New Jersey’s Spending $2 Million Per Mile on Roads
Pro-taxpayer Group Calls Letter a “Smoking Gun”
Trenton, N.J. – A letter from former DOT Commissioner Jamie Fox to legislators, obtained by Americans for Prosperity through an open public records request, confirms that the state is spending upwards of $2 million per mile on building, maintaining and operating its roadway system.
In the correspondence, delivered to Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26) and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-13) on March 20, 2015, Commissioner Fox acknowledged “…the cost per center line mile is $925,704 per mile.” Adding in New Jersey’s debt service, the state’s per mile road costs approximate the $2 million figure in Reason Foundation’s Highway Report.
“Commissioner Fox’s letter is a smoking gun which puts to rest any notion that New Jersey does not have an enormous, out-of-control transportation spending problem,” said AFP spokesman Mike Proto.“Lawmakers supporting this 23 cent per gallon gas tax hike, and debt-fueled $2 billion a year TTF spending plan, owe taxpayers answers and solutions, not more excuses. AFP once again calls on lawmakers to come together to address our transportation spending problem by making the structural reforms needed to ensure our transportation dollars are being spent prudently and efficiently.”
More taxes in NJ to fund more corruption. What a deal! Why doesn’t anyone come up with a plan to cut waste and expenses………..
Sweeney & Prieto Announce Agreement on a gas tax increase 23 cents a gallon for Renewed Transportation Trust Fund
July 22,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
TRENTON NJ, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto today announced that they have reached agreement on a new plan to fund the Transportation Trust Fund and enact a series of tax cuts designed to make New Jersey more competitive.
“We have an agreement on a plan that is needed to address the state’s critical transportation needs at the same time it provides targeted tax savings for retirees, the working poor and middle class families,” said Senator Sweeney (D-Salem/Cumberland/Gloucester). “This is a bipartisan plan that supports a $2 billion a year Transportation Trust Fund and provides affordable tax cuts that will allow us to meet the state’s pension obligations without creating a fiscal crisis. This is an investment plan that will create jobs and support immediate and long-term economic growth.”
“The Assembly acted to fund transportation, but this stalemate cannot continue,” said Prieto (D-Hudson/Bergen). “As I’ve been saying for more than two years, New Jersey needs a viable Transportation Trust Fund or we risk economic disaster. With efforts to negotiate a compromise with the governor stalled, I’m pleased to reach this new compromise that will provide much-needed investment in our state’s infrastructure and tax relief. I will now look for a firm commitment of strong support from Assembly Republicans to keep our roads and bridges safe and workers on the job. This is too important for our economy. We must get this done for the benefit of our state’s future.”
Senator Sweeney said that he is calling in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to convene next week to amend the bill passed by the Assembly at the end of June to reflect the new plan.
The agreement includes a 12.5 percent increase in the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax, a four-cent diesel surcharge and a seven percent tax on non-motor-fuel petroleum products to fund the TTF, which has essentially run out of money for new transportation projects after years of over borrowing. The new gas tax revenue would cover old debt payments, freeing up $347 million from the general fund for other needs.
If passed along to motorists, the gas tax would increase by 23 cents a gallon. An estimated 35 percent would be paid by out-of-state motorists. The dedicated revenue would generate $1.2 billion annually, which would support $2 billion in infrastructure investments each year.
A sustained investment of $2 billion annually would produce an estimated $4.7 billion a year in economic activity and create more than 34,000 jobs directly and indirectly, with annual payrolls of $1.4 billion. Each dollar spent from the TTF generates $2.35 in economic activity.
The plan also includes five tax cuts worked out over the past several months during ongoing negotiations involving Democratic and Republican lawmakers from both the Senate and the Assembly. The plan does not include any changes in jet fuel taxation.
The tax cuts would provide:
Tax Savings for the Working Poor: Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor to 40 percent of the federal benefit amount beginning in Tax Year 2016. Total tax savings of $137 million annually.
Tax Savings for Retirees: Increase the New Jersey gross income tax exclusion on pension and retirement income over four years to $100,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for individuals and $50,000 for married/filing separately. In the fifth year, seniors earning up to $125,000 can take a 50 percent credit on up to $100,000 in retirement income and those making up to $150,000 can take a 25 percent credit. Total tax savings of $75 million the first year and $164 million annually when fully phased in.
Eliminate the Estate Tax To Make NJ More Competitive: Phase out the estate tax over 3 1/2 years, replacing the current $675,000 threshold with a $2 million exclusion after January 1, 2017, going to the federal $5.4 million level from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019, and eliminating the estate tax altogether as of January 1, 2020. Total tax savings of $109 million the first year and $552 million annually when fully phased in.
Tax Deductions for NJ Motorists: Provide an annual income tax deduction on up to $500 in state gas taxes paid for all New Jersey motorists with incomes up to $100,000. Total tax savings of $20 million annually.
Tax Savings for Veterans: Provide a $3,000 personal exemption on state income taxes for all New Jersey veterans honorably discharged from active service in the military or the National Guard. Total tax savings of $23 million annually.
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on July 14, 2016 at 11:14 AM, updated July 14, 2016 at 12:12 PM
We asked, and you responded with some pretty insightful questions about the state’s road and transit construction shutdown.
While lawmakers and the governor try to hammer out a solution to replenish the state’s cash strapped Transportation Trust Fund and end the shutdown, readers asked questions about the billions of dollars that could be raised and how it will be used.
Q: Is the 23 cent gas tax increase for bridge and road construction, or (is it) funding New Jersey Transit? The seven costliest projects will buy buses and locomotives for NJT (example: $712.7 million for 772 buses). Not one cent goes towards our crumbling bridges and roads. Something is wrong here.
A: Let’s take those in order.
The TTF, which would be supported by a proposed 23 cent increase in the gas tax, funds both the Department of Transportation and NJ Transit, said Stephen Schapiro, a DOT spokesman. How much each agency receives is determined in the annual capital budget. The DOT will receive $1.017 billion from the trust fund and NJ Transit receives $582 million in fiscal year 2017.
As negotiations over how to fund the Transportation Trust Fund with a gas tax continue to stall, Governor Chris Christie’s decision to halt all repairs and construction until lawmakers reach a consensus is drawing criticism from Democrats and advocacy groups. The state Assembly and Senate failed to reach a compromise between two bills at the end of June. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
Ridgewood NJ, Here’s what we all need to know: The TTF has been a cesspool of waste and inefficiency. Sarlo and Sweeney use the TTF to buy union votes from their pals like Sanzari. It costs NJ state taxpayers $2.0 million per mile of state road, 12X the nation average and 3X the next highest state. Every other state in the country does it for considerably less, with MA next highest under $700,000 per mile. The funding for state roads is there from current gas taxes, bridge & tunnel tolls and commuter pass taxes. All Trenton needs to do is renew the funding on July 1st, but this should only come after an independent audit of the current TTF. Until then, not a penny more in gas taxes should be raised.
The state Legislature on Thursday will begin to consider bills that would raise taxes on gasoline by 23 cents a gallon while reducing or eliminating taxes on estates and some income, a deal that has support and opposition cross party lines. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more
Lawmakers in Trenton have begun hashing out the details of a plan to raise $2 billion a year for construction projects on New Jersey’s crumbling highways, bridges and rail lines by increasing the gas tax for the first time in 28 years. Christopher Maag, The Record Read more
Not so fast. That’s the message some New Jersey lawmakers, residents and both conservation and liberal interest groups have for legislators who plan to move forward with a 23-cent wholesale fuel tax hike to pay for road and bridge work. Associated Press Read more
New Jersey’s public infrastructure is in terrible shape, and deserves only a D+ for its overall condition, funding and safety, according to a study released Thursday by a national association of engineers. The study, structured like a student’s report card, gives the state low grades for every type of publicly funded system, from roads and drinking water to dams and hazardous waste. Christopher Maag, The Record Read more
New Jersey spends $183,757 to build and maintain a single mile of road, according to a new study by Rutgers University and the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Christopher Maag, The Record Read more
Senate Democrats announced a bill to raise New Jersey’s Earned Income Tax Credit by ten percent Tuesday, predicting that the move would cost the state $120 million but generate $180 million worth of increased economic activity. The bill from Senator Shirley Turner (D-15) bill is the latest development in the legislature’s amorphous definition of “tax fairness,” the phrase that Governor Chris Christie lit on when asked about the compromises he is willing to make to raise the state’s gas tax in an attempt to fund the ailing Transportation Trust Fund. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
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