Reportedly a NJ budget deal has been reached.

[NNadir]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060706/ap_on_re_us/new_jersey_budget

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey leaders agreed on a state budget Thursday following a six-day government shutdown that shuttered casinos and threw more than 80,000 people out of work, a high-ranking Statehouse official said.


"They'll be announcing the final elements later this afternoon," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the governor will announce the deal.

The deal to close the state's $4.5 billion budget gap includes a sales tax increase that would raise $1.1 billion a year, a different high-ranking Statehouse official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Half of the new money would be used to lower property taxes this year, and all of it would go for that purpose next year, that official said.

Democrats who control the state Assembly had opposed the tax increase, a jump from 6 percent to 7 percent that would cost the average New Jersey family an estimated $275 per year.

I'm glad a deal has been reached. I still believe that the Governor, who was right to insist upon fiscal sanity, needs to raise income taxes. The Whitman game was the problem.

[DainBramaged]

1. Christy whitless fucked NJ

She left us holding the bag 6 years ago for 5.5 billion. I'm suprised McGreedy's policies reduced it that much.

[ramapo]

2. Yet another scam

I agree that Corzine needs to raise taxes. Raising the sales tax, and using the revenue to address the budget shortfall, which resulted from Whitman's cut-taxes-and-spend policies, would've been a healthy dose of fiscal responsibility.

Too bad that's not happening. Instead we get this bizarro result...

The Democratic legislature was against the sales tax because it was regressive and would hurt the lower income people.

Now the lower income people will be paying a regressive tax in order to subsidize the costs of owning a home incurred by the middle and upper class. Money out of one pocket into another.

I'll pay more in sales tax so that maybe my property taxes will go down?

Why not just address the property tax problem? How about cutting the incredible administrative and infrastructure costs of supporting NJ's 500+ school systems and municipalities.

This is just another gimmick that masks the underlying financial problems. I wrote my legislators, and that crazy Roberts, and the Gov over the weekend asking them not to resort to financial games. So what do they do?

On edit: I really can't believe they've done this. A sales tax to subsidize the homeowner. People who can't afford, or who don't want a home, pay more in taxes so others (often wealthier) get property tax relief. And the politicians will be oh so proud of themselves.
Un-f'ing-believable.
:mad: :crazy:

[DainBramaged]

3. Denville here, Morris county, Thuglie heaven

Sales tax means nothing to the people here. And nothing to the folks up by you in Franklin Lakes, Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Hohokus, you know the area. Those are the folks who should have their property taxes INCREASED. They want to live in multi-million dollar homes, jack them up not the little guys. These are the folks who shop over the internet or have addresses in PA or other states to ship goods to.

$275 a year is walking around money for the folks by us, but not in the rest of the state.

[mcscajun]

4. Now *there's a good idea. Rather than just a flat number of cents

per dollar on your home as a property tax that differs by town, do the same thing as with NJ State Income tax: one rate up to a certain value, and a Higher rate for real estate over that value. Perhaps even more than two rates...

:wtf:

I like it!

[NNadir]

5. Well, I'm unaware of the details. I am willing to pay taxes.

I believe we should raise the income tax, and I am not looking for my recent 25% property tax to be reversed.

However the situation was rapidly becoming intractable.