To the editor:
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has proposed a 10 percent across-the-board income tax cut for everyone in the state. This would be just another windfall for the rich and super rich.
The state’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services analyzed the impact and said, “It sounds nice, but it is not.” A family earning $50,000 a year would have an extra $80.50 in its pocket. A family earning $100,000 a year would have $275. Those making $1 million a year would receive $7,265.75 as their tax break. The tax cuts for the middle class and below is not enough for one week’s groceries, but the millionaire tax cut is enough for an exotic vacation!
The real problem is not the income tax, which is low compared to other states, but rather the property tax. New Jersey’s average property tax of $7,758 ranks first in the nation.
We need a governor with the political courage to undertake a fundamental restructuring of our tax system.
When Christie ran for governor, he pledged to cut income taxes. Instead he cut Gov. Corzine’s surtax on incomes greater than $500,000, which was a loss of $800,000 of state revenue, which is exactly what he cut out of education funding to school districts.
Christie should impose the surtax, so income taxes on New Jersey millionaires are no longer out of line with other states.
New Jersey’s tax system is upside down. We collect more in property taxes ($25.8 billion) than we do income, sales and corporate taxes combined. Cutting the income tax won’t help or change that.
New Jersey has the most households in the nation making $1 million or more a year. Perhaps Gov. Christie should look at the tax structure and realize that taxing these millionaires a mere 5 percent more, instead of giving them a 10 percent tax cut, would result in the creation of jobs, thus benefiting all the people in New Jersey. It would generate $5 billion in state revenue and would go a long way in restoring our underfunded educational system.
Can we trust a governor whose campaign promise was not to touch pensions or property tax rebates, or cut education? He pledged to make state contributions into the pension fund but ended up balancing his budget by skipping a $3.1 billion payment to the fund.
Will the 10 percent tax cut across the board proposed by Gov. Christie really help the middle class and poor? The answer is no! What Gov. Christie should do is give the people who make under $50,000 a year a 30 percent cut. The people who make between $50,000 and $10,000 annual income should get a 20 percent cut. The millionaires should get a 5 percent increase.
Gov. Christie has taken away the homestead rebate from senior citizens, which has resulted in a loss of income of $1,200 for each senior citizen household. He has done away with the cost of living allowance for retired state workers, which resulted in a $325 decrease in their income.
The average New Jerseyan will have a tough 2012 when confronted with increases of 50 percent on the Parkway and Turnpike, 3.4 percent in college tuition, 2.3 percent in property taxes, 5.4 percent in health and auto insurance, 3.5 percent on food, 3.2 percent on rent, 14 percent on heating oil and 9 percent on gasoline.
Governor, more than 85 percent of the citizens of New Jersey have said over and over again that fairness demands those with the greatest means, especially those with incomes of $1 million or more a year, to pay at least an equal share of taxes. It is time for you to show true leadership by doing the right thing for ALL the people of New Jersey.
Joseph Tenore
Hillsborough

