Millionaires’ Group Joins Advocates, Students in Support of New Jersey Millionaire’s Tax in State Budget

TRENTON- Today, the Patriotic Millionaires, a group of high-net worth Americans, business leaders, and investors who are united in their concern about the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America, joined advocates and community members in a press conference at the Trenton War Memorial in support of passing a millionaire’s tax in the New Jersey state budget to help the state meet its existing obligations and invest in priorities.

Gov. Murphy has included a millionaires tax in his current budget, which will be finalized after a vote by the state legislature before June 30th.New Jersey has record levels of economic inequality, foreclosure rates, and credit downgrades. Smart tax policy measures such as the reinstatement of the millionaire’s tax, which will raise much needed revenue, increase tax fairness, and invest in New Jersey.

The Patriotic Millionaires were joined by members and advocates from Make the Road New Jersey, New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey Working Families and New Jersey Citizen Action. After the press conference members of the Patriotic Millionaires and advocacy groups headed to the statehouse, where the New Jersey state legislatures was in its final day of budget hearings, to speak with legislators about the importance of tax fairness.

“By passing a “millionaires tax,” the state can more afford to properly fund its needs without hurting the people of New Jersey. Everyone, including the rich, benefit when the state is well-funded and prospering. We’re not asking to be taxed more just because we think it’s the right moral choice – we think that we will all be better off too if we properly fund our schools and our infrastructure and help our neediest residents. Higher taxes aren’t a burden, they’re an investment we want to make to make this state better and more prosperous for everyone, ourselves included,” said Morris Pearl of Patriotic Millionaires.

“As a county college student from Union County, NJ, I know we need to invest in our schools, not in giving millionaires a tax break, said Valeria Gomez, youth leader with Make the Road New Jersey. “Today I’m proud to stand with this group — working class people and millionaires, advocates and business people – to call for a millionaire’s tax in New Jersey’s budget. We come from different walks of life, but we share a common vision for our state. We demand fairness in our tax system. Inequality is rising in New Jersey, and our tax system makes it worse. New Jersey ranks in the top 10 states for income inequality.”

New Jersey Policy Perspective President Brandon McKoy said, “Today, middle class New Jerseyans pay a greater share of their income in state and local taxes than the top one percent, the result of decades of tax policy and cuts tilted in favor of the wealthy. New Jersey’s tax code is upside down, and the millionaires tax is a great step to making it right side up again.

Yesterday, we heard that the state expects greater revenue returns than originally projected. Some have used this as an excuse to say we no longer need the millionaires tax, but that is a serious mistake. This effort is not just about next year’s budget. It’s about making sure New Jersey has reliable sources of revenue instead of relying on one shot gimmicks.”

“For the past decade our state’s millionaires have gotten tax break after tax break from Chris Christie, Democratic legislators, and Donald Trump,” said Sue Altman, state director of New Jersey Working Families. “Worse, politicians have forced working families to foot the bill for those tax cuts through higher property taxes. It’s time to rebalance the scales and ask the fortunate few to pay their fair share. New Jersey needs real tax fairness, and that starts with a millionaires tax.”

“For years, Governor Christie gave New Jersey’s millionaires lavish tax breaks and subsidies, paying for them through massive cuts to programs, services and projects that New Jersey desperately needs.  Christie cut school funding, tuition assistance and hiked up transit fairs. He decimated programs necessary to enforce our state’s environmental, consumer and worker protections. We need a millionaire’s tax to reinvigorate programs that protect public safety, health and children and to ensure New Jersey middle-class and working families are given the opportunities they need to thrive. Democrats who can’t see that the money we have on hand is not enough to rebuild our crumbling transportation infrastructure, provide health coverage for all our children, and give our students and workforce the education and training they need are not clearly seeing the realities facing millions of New Jerseyans,” said Dena Mottola Jaborska, Associate Director at New Jersey Citizen Action.