| Governor-Elect Phil Murphy held a press conference today with Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Democrat luminaries like state legislator Tim Eustace to announce he wasn’t going to do a thing about New Jersey’s highest-in-the-nation property taxes. Instead, Murphy punted on the opportunity to cut property taxes, in the hope that others will fix a problem that he is perfectly capable of fixing, but refuses to address.
In addition to the highest property taxes in America, New Jersey has the worst business climate in the nation, and has lagged behind other states in recovering from the Obama economy. Not only does the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs legislation cut taxes for at least 81 percent of New Jersey residents — (that’s according to the figures used by liberal think-tanks) — it has already sent fresh adrenaline into the bloodstream of the American economy. The best social program is a job. The surest path out of poverty and dependency on government is a job. Yesterday, we even learned that American business created a quarter-million new jobs last month.
Governor-Elect Murphy has unassailable Democrat majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Murphy could remove the $10,000 state income tax cap on property tax deductions this month, if he chose to. Murphy could make charitable contributions fully deductible, if he chose to. Murphy could address New Jersey’s inequitable school funding formula and its misuse of the state income tax for social engineering — the core-reasons why New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation. Murphy could ask legislators like Tim Eustace to join him in a special session to address property taxes — an idea suggested by the Asbury Park Press.
Instead, Phil Murphy has trotted out an ill-conceived, ad-hoc plan, cooked up by liberal public relations shill Josh Gottheimer, the same guy who provided the spin for the Wall Street firms that wrecked our economy. And when you drill down through all the fluff, the Murphy-Gottheimer plan is to get people to donate more of their hard-earned money to government — in order to qualify for a tax break.
The Murphy-Gottheimer plan does nothing to address the high cost of local government in New Jersey — made higher by regulations and mandates imposed under the last two Democrat governors. Their answer is the same as it always is: Give more money to government in the hope that you will get something back for it. As with the state income tax, which was sold as property tax relief but then snatched away to be used for social engineering, it is a hope that is ever forlorn. |
