NJ Assembly Panel Approved Millionaires Tax Hike

The Assembly Budget Committee has cleared a millionaires’ state income tax increase today. Every Democrat supported the measure and every Republican opposed it. The full Assembly and State Senate are expected to pass the bill Monday. Governor Chris Christie has vetoed the tax hike twice already and he promises to do it again if the legislation reaches his desk.

Representatives from the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the New Jersey Business and Industry Association testified against the bill saying it will hurt the job creators.

Assembly Republican Anthony Bucco says, “Just as it looks like New Jersey is headed in the right direction we go back to the days of taxing and spending……It’s like a bad horror movie where you think you got away, but then a hand reaches out from the grave and grabs your ankle.”

The tax increase would pour approximately $800 million into the State’s coffers and under the Democrats plan every penny of it would go to property tax relief for the middle class.

Democrats say only 16,000 millionaires would be impacted by the tax increase and they can afford it.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Assembly Democratic Leader Lou Greenwald co-sponsor the millionaires’ tax hike bill. Oliver says, “Many working families in New Jersey are financially strapped. The last thing they need is a tax increase, but that’s exactly what they’re getting with the Governor’s cut. It’s beyond me how the governor and Republicans can justify tax cuts for millionaires while saddling poor working families with tax increases, but if they won’t help working people, we will.”

“New Jersey’s poor working families need financial relief now more than ever. Reducing the tax credit only makes their financial situation more dire,” explains Greenwald. “The Governor’s obsession with tax cuts for millionaires at the expense of working families is unconscionable. We have a responsibility to all residents of this state, especially those who work and still struggle to make ends meet. Let’s give these families the resources they need to earn their way out of poverty.”

Bucco says, “The Corzine Democrats are resurfacing and showing the public how adept they are at raising taxes, but are not so proficient at creating jobs and economic development. Assemblyman Greenwald and his Democrat colleagues have failed twice in their ill-conceived attempt at raising taxes on many of the small businesses that provide and create jobs which also contribute a significant amount of income tax revenue.”