New Jersey Will Increase Gas Tax 23¢, Ending Long Political Stalemate
Source: New York Times
Gov. Chris Christie, who has long resisted raising any taxes, has battled with Democratic leaders since early summer over raising New Jerseys gas tax, reaching an impasse that brought hundreds of highway and transit projects to a standstill that lasted months.
But on Friday, a day after a fatal train crash in Hoboken focused attention on the troubled conditions of the state-run railroad, Mr. Christie, a Republican, finally gave way by accepting the first tax increase during his seven years in office. He said he had agreed to raise the gas tax by 23 cents a gallon to replenish the depleted Transportation Trust Fund, which the state uses to pay for improvements to rails, roads and bridges.
Mr. Christie, who has just over one year left in his second term, has prided himself on his refusal to raise taxes and promoted his record during his campaign to be the Republican presidential candidate. But he said he made an exception for the gas tax because the need to maintain the states transportation infrastructure was so critical.
While Im not authorizing any other tax increase during my time as governor, he said, Im authorizing this one because of the importance of the Transportation Trust Fund, the tax fairness that weve accomplished together and the compromise weve reached, and because we need to responsibly finance this type of activity.
Read more: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/01/nyregion/new-jersey-gas-tax-23-cents.html
dhol82
(9,353 posts)OhZone
(3,212 posts)What and asshat! What did he do with the money? Pay his lawyers?
davepc
(3,936 posts)Instead of using the Transportation Trust Fund to finance infrastructure projects they keep issuing bonds and using the TTF to finance the debt on those bonds. Well now there is more debt to finance then the TTF can handle. Raising the gas tax for the first time since Regan was in office was the only responsible move.
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davepc
(3,936 posts)Public works like roads, bridges, and tunnels cost money to build and maintain. That requires tax revenue. For almost 30 years the New Jersey legislature and governor have failed to meet the demand that states infrastructure requires by keeping the gas tax artificially low. That's just plain irresponsible.
I thought it was only Republicans who pushed fiscal irresponsibility at the expense of the public by never increasing revenues to meet demand.
jpak
(41,759 posts)and your point is?
athena
(4,187 posts)The rest of us prefer to drive on roads that are not filled with potholes. The rest of us realize that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and that if you don't want to risk dying when the bridge you cross every day crashes because of a lack of repairs, you need to pay for repairs and maintenance in the form of taxes.
It would be good if people bothered to find out about an issue before posting about it. All "non-essential" work on NJ roads had been halted by Chris Christie since July 2nd because of Chris Christie. If you really lived in New Jersey, you would know about this and realize that the inconvenience of the stoppage has been much greater than a much needed increase in a gas tax that was until now the second lowest in the U.S. after Alaska.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/road-work-halted-as-plans-for-n-j-gas-tax-hike-collapse-1.1624566
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)The states take enough of our money, with not much to show for it.
We pay such high taxes on gas in CT, one would think our roads would be pristine. They're still awful. What the heck are we paying for?????
Yes, I get we need to fix our infrastructure, but it was lack of leadership and mismanagement on the government's part. But guess who has to pay for it? Yup, us. Again. SMH
They should all be impeached.
So much agreed!
thesquanderer
(11,991 posts)Only Alaska taxed it less.
This isn't CT raising the tax, it's NJ.
Maybe the government isn't spending the money efficiently, but I think it's a safe bet that the roads would be even worse if there was no money at all...
mpcamb
(2,875 posts)Too bad the state tax is going up to pay for CC's legal bills he's going to run up before his jail term. Hope all those attendents aren't going to be out of a job.
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)The smaller roads are covered by the towns. The highways are actually is good shape and the state does repave them regularly.
Dorian Gray
(13,499 posts)is notoriously cheap.
And someone died, possibly because the train infrastructure wasn't being maintained to a high standard.
So, yeah, it's time.
Travis_0004
(5,417 posts)And use that money to fund rail improvements
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)onehandle
(51,122 posts)They should increase gas prices accordingly to pay for it.
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)Rural areas/towns don't have any mass transit but the distances involved require travel by car for basically every need.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)I've seen it in person for years serving in the Appalachia Service Project. It's like a third world country, but American Flags fly over it all.
athena
(4,187 posts)New Jersey transit is already exorbitantly expensive. I suppose you'd rather make it so expensive that only the 1% will be able to afford it.
forest444
(5,902 posts)The New Jersey Turnpike has so many potholes, you'd think Crisco had been mistaking the blacktop for chocolate cake!
OhZone
(3,212 posts)which already like doubled a couple of years ago.
I'm really beginning to hate this state.
forest444
(5,902 posts)Take the pension funds - the ones Crisco allowed banksters (including some reportedly associated with Governor Charlie the Tuna in Massachusetts) to raid. Those holes need to be plugged somehow, and one of those sources is almost certainly - you guessed it - the Turnpike toll funds.
rose822
(5 posts)as part of the deal according to reporting. So, Christie took an opprtunity to help out the Rich again so NJ revenue will still be on the brink or it's a wash.
forest444
(5,902 posts)As for the plutocrats that bankroll him, I guess love really is blind.
bucolic_frolic
(43,281 posts)or at least fix them faster than they are breaking
artyteacher
(598 posts)I'm never voting for another NJ Democrat or Republican.
...
Just Dems for Senate and President.
Just so done with the corruption and greed.
George II
(67,782 posts)....in more ways than one. Lots of people from New York and Pennsylvania for decades have driven to NJ to fill up with prices 20-30 cents or even more at times lower than those states. This will virtually eliminate those "gas runs" that people have been making for many years.
MichMan
(11,971 posts)So greedy drivers from NY and PA who filled up in NJ to evade the taxes in their home state, won't be able to anymore? What a shame
christx30
(6,241 posts)It's self defense. Maybe I happen to think my family getting groceries is more important than giving money over to fraud and waste.
MichMan
(11,971 posts)I wonder how many drive a Pickup or SUV while they fill up in NJ and cheat their home state?
Look, I don't give a damn where people buy gas, but think it is pretty hypocritical to gripe about corporations moving their HQ to Ireland or wealthy people using all kinds of tax loopholes to minimize their taxes.
Progressives think that taxation is the price for living in a civil society with roads and other amenities like schools, fire and police. Evading taxes while claiming it is because of government fraud and waste is something freepers say.
christx30
(6,241 posts)Last edited Mon Oct 3, 2016, 10:31 AM - Edit history (1)
of tax that you have to pay, and then some. Do you take the personal deduction? Do you claim your kids (if any) on your taxes? EITC? You ever just mail off a check to the treasury department for the heck of it?
Every one pays as little as we can legally get away with. But the point is that it's legal.
MichMan
(11,971 posts)Yes it is legal.
Not that it is any of your business, but yes I take the standard deduction only and with no dependants
christx30
(6,241 posts)When the bill goes up, it's less you can spend on other things. So people try to save as much as they can. They do everything they can to reduce the amount they pay out. Like if your power bill goes up, you'd be more contentious about turning off lights. It doesn't mean you're against paying the light bill. It just means that you know your electric is $50 more this month, and so it's time to cut back.
George II
(67,782 posts)...in the state in which they buy the gas!
This coming from someone who lives in a state (assuming "MichMan" refers to Michigan?????) that has one of the lowest tax rates on gas.
MichMan
(11,971 posts)Rationalize it any way you want. The poster stated many people from NY and PA deliberately cross the border just to fill up because NJ has lower gas taxes.
I do live in Michigan and while we don't have the highest gas taxes, we do have 6% sales tax on gas. I live close to the Ohio border and could save several cents a gallon buying it there, but I don't.
I prefer that the taxes I pay help support my state and my neighbors since the gas tax supports roads and the sales tax supports schools.
athena
(4,187 posts)As a resident of New Jersey who has to swerve to avoid pot holes approximately 50 times during my 17-minute commute, I agree that this gas tax was much needed. To avoid allowing the Democratic state Senate to raise the gas tax, Chris Christie had shut down all "non-essential" road work in the state since July 2nd. My community had been suffering greatly because a heavily-used bridge had to be closed because the construction on it, which had already started, was deemed "non-essential" and had to be stopped.
This thread seems to be overrun by a bunch of rabidly anti-tax people who clearly don't live in New Jersey and have no understanding of this issue.
George II
(67,782 posts)....lives in New Jersey. I also worked in New Jersey for about 15 years.
I have a very good understanding of the issue, and know that money that could be used for infrastructure is being used on Chris Christie's pet projects.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)Residents are over taxed. Sales tax, property tax and income tax. The gas tax was the lone exception. My property taxes equal 4% of the value of my house meaning I essentially rebuy my house from the government every 25 years. It's not tenable for retirement and I resent having my tax money subsidized big businesses that go bankrupt in the end and leave everyone holding the bag.
Someone needs to stand up to trump and others like him to pay fair taxes and stop looking for handouts. If they're such great businessmen, make it work without corporate welfare and bankruptcy.
athena
(4,187 posts)Yes, property taxes are extremely high. What my spouse and I pay in property tax is not far from what some people earn working full time. However, that is a reason to reduce property taxes; it is not a reason to keep the gas tax low. Having such a low gas tax results in people not caring about the value of the gas they consume. I'm convinced that the popularity of SUVs and the notoriously aggressive driving on NJ roads is at least in part caused by how cheap gas is here.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)You are correct that the unfairly high taxes in other respects don't justify a low tax on gas. They do justify those other taxes being cut statewide and across the board. I can't support an increase of any kind as long as the others remain unchanged and without a plan.
I'd be in favor of an increase in the gas tax if there was a commitment to lower some of the other inequitable taxes. I live near Cherry Hill. My property taxes are almost $7500 on a property worth maybe $180k. I'm a consultant. I work now in Western PA. I commute there at the beginning of the week and drive back for the weekend. It's a bit over 500 miles per week. I drive 4wd Trailblazer. I have no interest in a smart car which would be nothing but a speed bump for tractor trailer in a snow storm.
I'm not making a ton of cash and, if the place I worked was close enough to say Pittsburgh, I would fly as I did working at a few places in CA and Atlanta.
I see the NJ tax game as more profitable that any on the casino floors. Politicians like Christie usurp what ought to help the people and divert them to help big business at the expense of, for example, infrastructure like roads, rail and bridges. When a catastrophe occurs due to that piracy and neglect, it's used as an excuse to screw the average joe some more. There will be a big project and some photo ops for liars to extol as how our taxes are helping and fixing what's wrong. Then in another another few years. Some other leak in the dike will worsen and make headlines and a new or higher tax will be the answer.
I'm a realist. 99% of all the world's problems could be solved by simply throwing enough money at them. NJ has a problem in the other catagory. The problem is money. In my lifetime federal income taxes on individuals were well over 50% for those making what translates to today into over $1,000,000 per year. That money (from the rich) built infrastructure like highways. All interest of any kind (mortgage for a vacation home, car loan, credit card...) was all deductible. The only folks who carry balances on cars and cards are the middle class. The bankers are making out. College costs have risen 8 times over 30-40 years. Sure you can take loans (which make big businesses richer) but the only way out of them is pay them off or die.
If my house were in Philadelphia, my taxes would be 40% or less than what they are now and my mortgage would be about the same. The wage tax and lower state tax would equal and I wouldn't care if gas was higher.
IMHO the only reason the gas tax remained low for so long was to encourage tourism to beaches and some resorts and then later casinos. (Again that's mostly a benefit to big business.) In my lifetime the toll on Burlington County bridges has gone 5 cents (2 way toll) to a $4 one way toll. Driving on the roads near my home can knock your teeth loose. Small businesses are dying from competition with places like Walmart. Most of the nation's economy is small to medium businesses.
As long as the middle class pays subsidies to the rich in this state the bad Philly suburbs like Camden will expand until they meet the bad NYC suburbs like Newark until the state is mostly a wasteland. It might take a few hundred years but there's nothing now to stop it.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)...because of the option to fill the tank for less will stay home. Business revenue will decline, bridge tolls will drop and the result will be ever more increases in taxes and tolls to be accompanied by declining infrastructure and more subsidies to attract big enterprises (like casinos) that don't really contribute to the economy. NJ has taken hits over AC casinos for years include the trump failures and notable others. It's time they sink or swim on their own.
athena
(4,187 posts)It would be good if people actually read up on an issue before authoritatively passing judgment on it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/01/nyregion/new-jersey-gas-tax-23-cents.html?_r=0
But on Friday, a day after a fatal train crash in Hoboken focused attention on the troubled conditions of the state-run railroad, Mr. Christie, a Republican, finally gave way by accepting the first tax increase during his seven years in office.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/07/nyregion/hundreds-of-transportation-projects-in-new-jersey-are-shutting-down.html
Construction workers have been out of work for months. People have had their commutes lengthened for months because of stalled construction work. And you claim that it's the gas tax increase that is "going to hurt". As a New Jersey resident, I am relieved.
George II
(67,782 posts)....by Chris Christie, most notably to bail out the Atlantic City casinos. For example, Christie gave the Revel about $250M a couple of years ago, and less than a year later the casino closed and that money was lost. That ONE gift represents one-third of the State Transportation Department's projects.
How much money has Christie given to business interests in Atlantic City, only to see nothing in return?
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)...with its income tax and my 4% per year property taxes. Christie and his cronies are wasting what's taken in and mismanaging anything that is actually spent on public services. If he were a surgeon, he'd spending his time putting gall stones back in and offering reconstructive appendix surgery.
MichMan
(11,971 posts)All of this over a measly 23 cents a gallon. Gas prices are down over a dollar since a few years ago.