New Jerseyans Need Tax Relief — Not More Spending and Higher Taxes

By Assemblyman Ned Thomson

Assemblyman Ned Thompson

While New Jersey narrowly avoided a second straight government shutdown, the budget agreement that was achieved at the last minute will have a serious impact on area taxpayers that will be felt for years to come.

As a member of the Assembly Budget Committee, I participated in a number of meetings and listened to hours of testimony on Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget that sought to increase spending by more than 7 percent and raise taxes by $1.7 billion. Gov. Murphy and the Democrat majority in the Legislature then spent much of the spring and early part of summer arguing over which of our taxes to raise.

Never, it seems, did they consider reducing government spending nor did the conversation appear to focus on reducing the burden on some of the most overtaxed citizens in the country. In fact, during the debate, serious consideration was given to additional tax hikes, including proposals to increase the realty transfer fee and add taxes to short-term home rentals — two ideas that would have dramatically impacted Monmouth and Ocean County residents. Read the rest of this entry »

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N.J. Assembly Republicans accuse NJEA of ‘pandering’ to members in pension talk pullout

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