Posted on 07/04/2006 1:43:38 PM PDT by Libloather
It's a 17% increase in the sales tax.
BTW, what will happen to the special 3% tax abatement districts. Will they go to 4%, or will they stay at 3%? That will be another kick in the nuts to every surrounding community if they don't increase along with everybody else.
But an increase would decrease the effectiveness of the program.
Hmmmmm....
I don't know if there is a recall mechanism in New Jersey. I would call the Secretary of State to find out, but the office is shut down, no doubt...
What I’m sure will happen is that any “property tax relief” will go to Democratic Counties while all Republican Counties get screwed.
"I don't know if there is a recall mechanism in New Jersey. I would call the Secretary of State to find out, but the office is shut down, no doubt..."
If NJ doesn't have a recall provision, then this is the perfect moment to start a drive to get one!
Math is hard.
Let's try from 3% to 3.5%, as we all know 3.5% is half of 7%.
This is a dog and pony show by the RATS. A last minute agreement will be reached.
I actually have to admit, I'm impressed that the NJ Democrats have the spine to shut down the government rather than approve a tax hike. That's a hell of a lot more spine than 98% of Republicans.
I hadn't looked at it that way and, yes, you're 100% right. Happy 4th!
I spoke with my brother who owns a store here in South Jersey. He estimates he has lost at least 500 dollars so far on commission made by lottery tickets. They can not sell any kind of tickets even the rub offs, because the state will not guarantee redemption.
The Legislative Branch plan is to raise taxes in other forms besides a sales tax. Either way we are screwed.
Don't forget to remember, 25-50% of local and State revenus are lost to graft/corruption. Feel better now? Knew ya would.
TRENTON, July 4 — Instead of heading to the beach or preparing for a backyard barbecue, New Jersey's 120 legislators were called to the State House on Tuesday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who urged them to resolve a budget stalemate that has led to a four-day-old government shutdown. But the day ended with the impasse worse than ever.
After listening to the governor make a 30-minute appeal, in which Mr. Corzine emphasized his willingness to compromise with fellow Democrats in the Assembly over his proposal to increase the state sales tax, Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. declared that the governor's plan could not pass.
"We cannot make it any clearer today: the sales tax increase is dead in the General Assembly," Mr. Roberts said. "We need to move on to other alternatives and end this shutdown."
With no votes scheduled, many lawmakers left, clearing the way for the shutdown of Atlantic City's 12 casinos and the state's 42 parks as of 8 a.m. Wednesday.
But in a day of dueling news conferences, Mr. Corzine and his aides continued to call for the passage of some version of a sales tax increase, and Mr. Roberts again rejected a compromise proposal.
"I'm willing to meet the Legislature halfway," Mr. Corzine said. "But I'm not willing to compromise and compromise and compromise, just to have a budget finished."
The state government began shutting down on Saturday after the Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, failed to approve the governor's $31 billion budget by July 1, the deadline set by law. Soon afterward, offices of the State Division of Motor Vehicles closed, and the state lottery and road construction were halted.
Mr. Corzine and Mr. Roberts have been locked in a dispute over the governor's proposal to raise the sales tax to 7 percent from 6 percent. Mr. Corzine says the increase should be used to help close a $4.5 billion budget shortfall, while Mr. Roberts insists that any sales tax increase address the state's high property taxes.
The dispute has begun to exact a financial toll on the state. Shutting the lottery is costing the state $2.2 million a day, and New Jersey stands to lose about $1.3 million daily if the casinos close.
In addition, the shutdown may block reimbursement of pharmacies for state-subsidized prescriptions, and may make it impossible for home-buyers to close their transactions because they need state-issued documents.
In his speech to the Legislature, Mr. Corzine — who has framed the impasse as a choice between a sales tax increase this year or fiscal crises for years to come — said he would not abandon the principles regardless of the short-term consequences.
"The shutdown of state government is much more than a mere inconvenience to the citizens of New Jersey," he said. "It is more serious than an interruption of a night at the track or a canceled visit to Atlantic City. It means the loss of a paycheck to tens of thousands of construction workers, casino workers and public employees," he continued. "It means real hardship to small business owners who will lose income because they can't sell lottery tickets. Make no mistake, people are being hurt and more will be hurt in the days ahead."
But on a day when the state's legislators deferred their Fourth of July plans for a trip to this sweltering state capital, the budget discussions appeared to lose momentum rather than gain it, and the finishing touches were applied to complete the phased shutdown of state government.
More - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/nyregion/05trenton.html
As a matter of security, please recommend a State with a suitable record hiring and electing gay citizen's.
Forgive me if this has been asked already, but would this be a lead story screamed by every network if ANYONE other than Democrats were responsible?
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