By Matt Rooney
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Early indications point to the vast majority of New Jerseyans receiving a significant tax CUT for 2018, Save Jerseyans. In fact, H&R Block found New Jerseyans receiving the nation’s biggest average drop in tax liability (29%). New Jersey’s ‘tax freedom day’ — the annual calendar date upon which we start working for ourselves instead of working to pay taxes — is in April this year, the earliest point in years.
That hasn’t stopped Democrats from working overtime to manipulate voters in all 21 counties, insisting that New Jersey got screwed by the Trump tax reform and demanding that the $10,000 state and local tax (SALT) cap be repealed.
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Wrong. Incorrect. Lies.
Phil Murphy is repeating them. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D, NJ-5) is recycling them.
Tom Malinowski (D, NJ-07) apparently signed off on a letter this week demanding congressional action on “the restoration of the full State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT).“
“Since tax season began, many of my constituents have been telling me that they owe thousands more to the government this year than last,” said Malinowski. “For middle class families struggling to make ends meet that is devastating. I will continue to fight to reverse the 2017 tax bill that made New Jersey’s burden even greater, and to bring relief to taxpayers across our state.”
I’ve got news for you, Tom:
(1) You’re a liar (see above, and here)
(2) Your constituents were struggling long before the 2017 tax bill
A decent representative would explain to these constituents that refund size and tax liability are distinct concepts. Many individuals received small refunds this year but had a LOT less withholding throughout the course of the year due to changes to the IRS’s tables brought about by the much-maligned tax reform bill.
Malinowski isn’t decent.
Those who DID pay more (who, ironically, are mostly the very rich who Democrats tell us should be paying more anyway) should rightly blame Trenton for giving us our worst-in-the-nation SALT to begin with! There’s no need for a cap if our state income and property taxes were normal. So Malinowski, were he not a lying jerk, would spend less time haranguing Trump and more time pressuring his own Democrats (who control Trenton) to cut property taxes.
Malinowski is a jerk, and he’s going to continue getting away with all of this nonsense until the GOP speaks up and quits accepting a bad premise which is going unchallenged by the lapdog media establishment. Remember: Leonard Lance, who Malinowski defeated last cycle, accepted the SALT premise and participated in bipartisan photo ops with the Democrat Gottheimer to push back against the president on this issue. Lance is gone. Gottheimer is still there.
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MATT ROONEY is a practicing New Jersey attorney, regular panelist on ‘Chasing News’ with Bill Spadea, and the founder and blogger-in-chief of Save Jersey.
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