According to the Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey, New Jersey retains the distinction of being number one in median real estate taxes paid. We are far and away the highest in the nation, with a median tax bill of $6,320, 37% higher than Connecticut which comes in second at $4,603.
Even New Hampshire which holds third place at $4,501 still has a far more favorable tax structure, because the Granite State has neither a personal income tax, nor a sales tax.
New Jersey is a great place to live and to bring up kids, despite the decades-long fiscal mismanagement emanating from Trenton. School districts directly contributed to the problem as well, because they doled out multi-year employment contracts without any serious consideration for the adverse long-term effect which those contracts would have on The Garden State’s structurally high real estate taxes.
One of the proposals which Governor Chris Christie has placed before the state legislature is to put a referendum initiative before voters in the November, 2010 elections that will restrict spending increases to 2.5% for local budgets, including those of school districts.
It’s not a panacea, but the measure is overdue. Residents of this state have a right to remain here if they so choose. High taxes should not be forcing people and businesses out. I never heard anyone who came to the mike in recent months to complain about school budget cuts ever mention that issue.
Any community consensus about the level of spending and taxation in Bridgewater and Raritan should acknowledge the fact that we all have a right to a decent life right where we are. Contrary to the popular but over-simplistic mantra which we all heard expressed in recent school budget discussions, it’s not only about the kids.
It’s about all of us. Isn’t that what the values of a community are supposed to reflect – concern for the entire scope of its diverse population? Not merely one element?
Showing posts with label New Jersey Taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Jersey Taxes. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Saturday, September 19, 2009
High-Priced New Jersey
On Friday, October 2, the Raritan Valley Community College will host a 5-hour program entitled Making New Jersey More Affordable. It is being sponsored by the Somerset County Business Partnership, the Courier News and its web site, together with Allstate and the Affinity Credit Union.
I strongly support this gathering of powerful and influential people who will lend their voices to the debate. All gubernatorial candidates have been invited. I hope all are present and give specifics as to how they propose to pull New Jersey out of its downward financial vortex.
Although I can be highly skeptical at times, I generally have a cautiously optimistic outlook for the future. But for the love of me, I cannot figure out how this state will pull itself out of its financial morass unless it addresses the structural weaknesses which are strangling it.
Public service unionized salaries and benefits are out of control, with not a soul willing to give up a millimeter of ground. Year-after-year negotiated union salaries and benefits continue to rise at a rate above inflation during a time of deflation and national economic distress.
Dishonesty, fraud and corruption in government are rampant, and only the surface seems to have been scratched.
Remember the hollow promise of 1976 when the income tax was passed? It was intended to provide real estate tax relief for all homeowners, but decades of those revenues – billions – have been doled out with no conditions attached, or they have been spent for the preferential treatment of the few. The state never sets aside revenue collected for a specific purpose; instead, the money effectively goes into the general fund and you can kiss it goodbye.
Heck, we don’t even measure up to a state like New Hampshire which has no income tax and no sales tax, yet whose students produced an average 2009 SAT score of 1556, compared to New Jersey’s 1505 – lower New Jersey results for a lot more money, lower, even, than the national average of 1509.
The challenges facing New Jersey’s economic future are enormous, and they won’t be met simply by taxing the super-rich and cutting back on income tax rebates.
I strongly support this gathering of powerful and influential people who will lend their voices to the debate. All gubernatorial candidates have been invited. I hope all are present and give specifics as to how they propose to pull New Jersey out of its downward financial vortex.
Although I can be highly skeptical at times, I generally have a cautiously optimistic outlook for the future. But for the love of me, I cannot figure out how this state will pull itself out of its financial morass unless it addresses the structural weaknesses which are strangling it.
Public service unionized salaries and benefits are out of control, with not a soul willing to give up a millimeter of ground. Year-after-year negotiated union salaries and benefits continue to rise at a rate above inflation during a time of deflation and national economic distress.
Dishonesty, fraud and corruption in government are rampant, and only the surface seems to have been scratched.
Remember the hollow promise of 1976 when the income tax was passed? It was intended to provide real estate tax relief for all homeowners, but decades of those revenues – billions – have been doled out with no conditions attached, or they have been spent for the preferential treatment of the few. The state never sets aside revenue collected for a specific purpose; instead, the money effectively goes into the general fund and you can kiss it goodbye.
Heck, we don’t even measure up to a state like New Hampshire which has no income tax and no sales tax, yet whose students produced an average 2009 SAT score of 1556, compared to New Jersey’s 1505 – lower New Jersey results for a lot more money, lower, even, than the national average of 1509.
The challenges facing New Jersey’s economic future are enormous, and they won’t be met simply by taxing the super-rich and cutting back on income tax rebates.
Monday, January 5, 2009
New Jersey, Tax Champ
Because of the recent national financial meltdown, all levels of government in New Jersey are strapped for cash, but not more so than the individual Garden State taxpayers who are picking up the tab for the last two decades of reckless spending increases.
Over the years, we have always had one of the highest real estate taxes in the nation. But did you know that, according to The Tax Foundation, New Jersey – at 7.1% – now has the highest real estate tax burden in the country when measured as a share of income. Nebraska, only tenth down the list, is half that number, at 3.6%. That gives you an idea of how confiscatory property taxes on owner-occupied homes have become in New Jersey.
No matter how the numbers are sliced and diced, we are a taxing and spending champion: NJ property taxes are the highest per capita in the nation. The sales tax is the country’s second highest, and the cigarette tax is the highest. Furthermore, New Jersey’s total state and local tax burden is also the highest in the nation at 11.8% of income, way over the national average of 9.7%.
Even businesses are getting whacked: For 2008, The Tax Foundation ranks NJ at the bottom of the pack, number 49, in its measurement of attractiveness as a state in which to do business.
Over the years, we have always had one of the highest real estate taxes in the nation. But did you know that, according to The Tax Foundation, New Jersey – at 7.1% – now has the highest real estate tax burden in the country when measured as a share of income. Nebraska, only tenth down the list, is half that number, at 3.6%. That gives you an idea of how confiscatory property taxes on owner-occupied homes have become in New Jersey.
No matter how the numbers are sliced and diced, we are a taxing and spending champion: NJ property taxes are the highest per capita in the nation. The sales tax is the country’s second highest, and the cigarette tax is the highest. Furthermore, New Jersey’s total state and local tax burden is also the highest in the nation at 11.8% of income, way over the national average of 9.7%.
Even businesses are getting whacked: For 2008, The Tax Foundation ranks NJ at the bottom of the pack, number 49, in its measurement of attractiveness as a state in which to do business.
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