By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
It’s finally starting to look like Trenton might do something about our death tax dilemma, Save Jerseyans.
We’ve been grinding this ax for a long time; only two U.S. states impose both an estate tax AND an inheritance tax. Consequently, anyone who can still afford to live in New Jersey (a shrinking pool) finds themselves deathly afraid of dying here.
State Senator Ray Lesniak (D) proposed repealing the estate tax back during the summer (although he wanted to exchange it for a millionaire’ tax). Now, a broad coalition of Assembly Republicans and Democrats are championing a bill (A1281) to (1) repeal New Jersey’s inheritance tax and (2) increase the estate tax exemption so that it’s in-line with the feds.
Better late than never, I suppose.
The Family Business Coalition, advocating a full repeal of both taxes, spelled out why the exemption issue is so critical in its recent letter to Governor Chris Christie urging him to throw his full influence behind reform efforts.
“New Jersey’s low estate tax exemption of $675,000 and high rate of 16% make it the most confiscatory estate tax in the entire country,” the signatories explain. “In New Jersey, even a middle-income family with a modest home and retirement savings can easily surpass the $675,000 exemption. In recent years increasing home prices have lead to 1 in 5 single-family home sales greater than $500,000.”
Yet another example of “class warfare” backfiring and hurting the taxpayers who can least afford to get caught up in it! You can’t tax ghosts, either…
Again, what’s important to remember here is that there are limits to what government can control. Liberal busybodies hate to hear that but it’s true! Government can’t prevent people from dying. It also can’t stop them from moving (you have a fundamental right to interstate travel). The only thing Trenton CAN affirmatively and proactively do is make New Jersey sufficiently competitive with other states so that the living choose to live here, operate businesses here and, in so doing, pay taxes here.
End the double-taxation scourge. Let it rest in pieces. Make New Jersey the premiere place to live and thrive again in the Mid-Atlantic. And do it while some of us are still alive to see it happen! A2181 is a good start.
How about repealing the Real Estate “Final Bridge Toll” tax that you only have to pay on real estate transactions IF YOU ARE LEAVING NEW JERSEY?