TRENTON, N.J. — Anyone expecting Governor Phil Murphy to reverse course in his second-ever budget address appears destined for disappointment, Save Jerseyans.
Murphy will present the outline of his FY 2020 proposal to a solidly-Democratic but less-than-solidly pro-Murphy legislature on Tuesday. Ahead of that big speech, the state’s top Democrat penned an op-ed for the Star-Ledger which ran on Sunday.
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Pledging to prioritize spending on education and NJ Transit, Murphy also pledged to “ensure tax fairness for middle-class families taking it on the chin from rising inequality and President Trump’s harmful federal tax changes.”
In Leftist circles, the term ‘tax fairness’ is synonymous with socialist economics characterized by massive spending and huge tax hikes on businesses and high income earners.
Click here to read the full op-ed.
Many analysts believe the Governor is playing a dangerous fiscal game. He previously raised taxes $1.5 billion and spending $2.7 billion (an 8% increase) for FY 2019, deepening the state’s precarious fiscal problems and setting up a likely disaster if (or when) the state’s economy hits the skids. Will higher taxes and more spending really help New Jersey?
Murphy’s federal tax argument is also particularly light on facts.
Gross Income Tax (GIT) is off 6.0% year-over-year after New Jersey experienced a massive 35.2% collapse back in December 2018, a trend which coupled with news of record federal revenues validates the argument that New Jersey’s proximate fiscal problem isn’t a new SALT cap but, rather, our ridiculously high state and local tax burden.
Murphy’s speech is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March 5th.
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