New Jersey Governor Christie upends old income tax deal with Pennsylvania

Reuters ^ | Fri Sep 2, 2016 5:46pm EDT | Hilary Russ

[Olog-hai]

New Jersey Governor Christie said on Friday the state would begin taxing income earned by people who work in New Jersey but live in Pennsylvania, ending a long-standing arrangement with the neighboring state.

Pulling out of the nearly 40-year old “reciprocity” agreement would allow New Jersey to raise more revenue starting Jan. 1.

Christie, a close ally of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said in a statement that he was forced to act because the Democrat-controlled legislature created a $250 million budget hole in June by relying on public employee health insurance cuts they have not yet made.

If lawmakers come back next week and cut health costs, Christie could consider “revising” his termination of the reciprocal tax pact. …

[Nifster]

Idiot. He could have waited till after election to announce this

[Jeff Chandler]

Pennsylvania: That does it. No more pretzels for you.

[NEPA]

I assume this means they have to pay taxes to both states.

I would feel bad for them except that these are NJ people who moved to PA in large part because of high NJ taxes and brought their high tax democratic voting habits with them.

[Myrddin]

I face this multi-state issue every year. My company has a presence in nearly every state. If I work 5 days or more in a given state, I can expect to see a W-2 itemization for income tax collected for that state. Last year it was my state of residence (Idaho) plus California and Nebraska. My supervisor and co-workers are in San Diego, so I'm making trips of 2 to 5 days a month there. I have customers and staff to support in Nebraska. That average one week a year. Just enough to get tagged for an income tax filing. The cost of the software and filing fee is almost offset by the refund from Nebraska.

The income I earn on the trips to CA falls in a lower tax bracket (ditto NE), thus often gets refunded. I end up owing a bit to Idaho. TurboTax works out the details. It's a pain in the butt. The behavior of tracking the zip code where you are executing your labor became fashionable when states became hungry for tax revenue. It's a lot of extra work for businesses and taxpayers.

[Alberta's Child]

They typically don't have to pay taxes to both states. They have to file tax returns in both states, but their tax obligation to PA is offset by the taxes they pay to NJ. Since NJ's rate is higher, they will owe $0 to PA.

I'm surprised NJ even allowed this to go on for so long. The tax differential was a huge incentive for people working in NJ to live in PA.

[Moonman62]

If lawmakers come back next week and cut health costs, Christie could consider “revising” his termination of the reciprocal tax pact. …

...

This isn’t a done deal. He’s playing hardball.

[donozark]

Quite a large number in Allentown/Bethlehem area I understand. New Jerseyites. Unfortunately they bring their liberalism with them...

[kearnyirish2]

That is why many military members and athletes choose states with no income tax as their primary residence; the NY Yankees have their spring training in FL, and players that “live” there can pay NY state taxes only for the games they play in NY. This matter was brought to light years ago when the dopey mayor on NYC had a spat with Rush Limbaugh which caused Rush to start broadcasting from FL; NYC and NY state lost a lot of money in that deal...

[Olog-hai]

What, like the sales tax versus gas tax game was “hardball”? Trading one liberal goal for another?

[Ray76]

tax=destroy

[DownInFlames]

Raise revenue = ripping off taxpayers

[bert]

Then there is Donald Trump

He lives in Trump Tower but maintains a residence in Florida

When he is somewhere else does are his earnings taxed from NYC residence or Florida residence?

[PAR35]

I'm making trips of 2 to 5 days a month there. I have customers and staff to support in Nebraska. That average one week a year.

I hope your job doesn't involve handling numbers, if you think 2-5 days a month equals one week a year. (2 days a month would equal 24 days or one month a year, 5 days a month would equal 60 days, or roughly 3 months.)

[Graybeard58]

I face this multi-state issue every year. My company has a presence in nearly every state. If I work 5 days or more in a given state, I can expect to see a W-2 itemization for income tax collected for that state

************************************

M.L.B. players pay an income tax in every state they play in, excepting states that have no income tax. Probably true for the N.F.L. and the N.B.A. too.

[Alberta's Child]

It all depends on where he actually earns the money. If he lives in a state with an income tax, then his primary residence is an important consideration as well.

Here's an example that has been simplified just to illustrate the point:

Suppose Donald Trump owns two luxury apartment buildings: Trump Tower in New York and Trump South in Miami. For the sake of this discussion, let's assume that he owns them directly and not through any kind of a corporate entity, partnership, etc.

1. The income from Trump Tower is subject to New York state income taxes under all circumstances.

2. The income from Trump South is subject to Florida's tax laws, which means there is no income tax in Florida.

3. If New York is his primary residence, then the Trump South income is also subject to New York state income taxes.

4. If Florida is his primary residence, then the Trump South income is not reported in New York state.

[Alberta's Child]

That's exactly right. And keep in mind that many cities have their own income taxes as well.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Lebron James files 25 or 30 separate tax returns every year.

[sphinx]

Yeah. I’m waiting for Illinois to hit me with a tax bill retroactive to about 1980, claiming me as a resident based on layover times in O’Hare. If they could just get all the airline records into the right database, they’d have done it already.

[Cowboy Bob]

Growing up, my family lived in New Jersey. My father worked in NYC.

My father paid NYC income tax, NY State income tax and NJ income tax. And, NJ property tax. Of course, there was also Federal income tax too.

[kearnyirish2]

That may be a function of where the businesses are registered/doing business.