8th District Legislators Implore Governor to Return $9 Billion In Excess Revenue

Senator Jean Stanfield, Assemblyman Michael Torrissi and Assemblyman Brandon Umba called on Governor Phil Murphy to give back the billions in revenue New Jersey over collected from taxpayers.

State Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio addressed the state legislature this week and is projecting New Jersey will collect billions more in revenue than projected for the current year.

“This is over-taxation at its worst. The government took nearly $9 billion more than it needed from residents, and there have been few conversations about how this money is going to be returned to citizens,” Umba said. “We have school districts losing millions in state aid, property taxes through the roof and inflation making everything unaffordable. New Jersey has $9 billion to help solve some of the issues our people are facing.”

New Jersey is widely known for having the highest taxes in the nation, including being at or near the top in property taxes, income taxes, corporate income taxes and sales taxes. It is also known for its overbearing fee and regulation structure.

“Clearly New Jersey doesn’t need to grab us all by the ankles and shake us down for every coin we have. They have $9 billion in over-taxed money,” Torrissi said. “Taxes are not a piggy bank for the government. They’re to fund the budget.”

On top of the over-projected revenue, the state received billions from the federal government in covid-relief funding. More than $5 billion has not been spent and more than $3 billion hasn’t even been allocated for any purpose.

“Any way you cut it, there’s too much money sitting in the state’s coffers that was taken from taxpayers. It’s time to lower our tax rates, make our business climate more manageable and give it back,” Stanfield said.