TRENTON, N.J. — Here we go, Save Jerseyans.
In a long-anticipated move, the Murphy Administration announced on Thursday that New Jersey’s recently-hiked gas tax will rise another 4.3 cents per gallon effective October 1st to 41.4 cents per gallon.
New Jersey had the second-lowest gas tax in the United States until, in 2016, the Democrat legislature and then-Governor Chris Christie conspired to adopt a massive 23-cent-per gallon increase, the first such increase since 1988.
The devil was in the details. “Under the 2016 law (Chapter 57), New Jersey’s TTF program is required to provide $16 billion over eight years to support critical infrastructure improvements to the state’s roadways and bridges,” explained the N.J. Treasury Department. “In order to ensure the state has the funds necessary to support these projects, the law dictates that the Petroleum Products Gross Receipt (PPGR) tax rate must be adjusted accordingly to generate roughly $2 billion per year. “
Beginning in October 2018, New Jersey’s new elevated state gas tax will be 41.4 cents per gallon in an attempt to meet the law’s revenue target, representing a 20% increase of the original 2016 hike (or 26.9 per gallon over the old pre-2016 rate).
That means New Jersey’s gasoline tax will be the 5th highest in America according to the Tax Foundation’s 2017 report.
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ICYMI — Click here to find out how your legislator voted on the October 2016 gas tax hike.
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