NJ Governor Phil Murphy recently announced a deal he had struck with Democratic lawmakers in the Legislature on a $37.4 billion State budget for Fiscal Year 2019. Included in this budget is a massive tax hike for wealthy residents and businesses. This tax increase will have dire consequences for New Jersey in general, as well as for Lakewood and other Ocean County towns in particular.
For starters, when taxes are raised on wealthy residents, they tend to move to tax-friendlier states, such as Florida and Pennsylvania. In fact, a 2017 report showed that between 1993 and 2016, New Jersey lost a net $35.2 billion of income to other states, with the majority of people leaving the state being those that earn more than $200,000 per year. The report also showed that New Jersey’s annual loss of income more than doubled after the tax rate of those earning over $500,000 was raised in 2004. Wealthy people, those that carry the majority of the state’s financial burden, and are the greatest catalysts of job creation, are fleeing New Jersey due to the stifling tax environment. This new tax hike will only exacerbate the issue. And when wealthy people leave the state, the state’s financial burden is thrust upon already struggling middle class families by way of ever-higher tax rates.
Furthermore, Ocean County is currently the fastest growing County in New Jersey. Much of the population growth is coming from young, growing families that are in need of income. To earn income, you need a job; to get a job, you need profitable companies searching for employees. This budget, in all its glorious stupidity, raises taxes on businesses, the very same ones doing the most to employ those helping New Jersey’s population grow. These businesses will now be further incentivized to move to other states, costing Ocean County thousands of high-earning jobs, which will severely disrupt the mind-boggling growth of the last decade.
There is a basic economic rule taught in every economics class known as the Laffer Curve. It illustrates how when taxes go up, productivity goes down due to the lack of financial incentive. This has been shown to be the case for decades. How do politicians get away with ignoring this most basic, widely known rule?
New Jersey politicians need to take an economics class, acquire some financial sense, and let the innovators in society drive the economy forward.
Avi Gutfreund.
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He is undoing all the hard work and progress that Christie made on the financial situation in NJ. Christie only got beat up for doing the dirty work. I did not vote for this Governor.
We need to get more fiscal conservatives elected in NJ.
I don’t understand what you’re saying. My boss is richer than me. So I hope the state taxes his business into oblivion.
(If I lose my job because of that, I’ll hope that the state gives me more free money.)
Win Win for me. Lose lose for my boss who is richer than me. Ha ha
Well said, Avi. Many liberals have no idea how the economics system works & it has been proved time and again that ” Tax & Spend” does NOT work. It’s very sad. The local economy has been, B’Chasdei H-shem, doing very well the last few years; I hope this new tax plan doesn’t kill it.
The Politics will never change in this State because there are too many people that want free stuff and the Democrats are the only ones giving away free stuff. The only problem with the Democratic math is when they run out of money and this whole ponzi scheme collapses the entire State will suffer.
Every time i go to fill up my car i find solace in knowing christie did such a good job.
Can’t say you didn’t see where this was coming from. Murphy clearly said that he was going to raise taxes when he was running
Christie did not do such a good job . I would rate him as c- or a d he coasted his last term. He could have done so much all he did was raise the gas tax. Why did he agree to it?? Why??
Ocean County is also blessed with a community who knows that the creator that giveth life giveth sustenance. Of course it would be nice if our Governor had more sense, and hopefully we will have one after the next election, but ultimately he is of NO real consequence. Sleep well!