By Matt Rooney
One of the *several* reasons why Jack Ciattarelli got his doors blown off this year was likely the well-delivered Democrat smear alleging that the GOP nominee wanted to institute a 10% sales tax. Was it true? No, but at a time when Bidenflation has slowed but prices remain elevated, the lie proved scary enough to stick.
The election is over but one legislative Republican is trying to call the Democrats’ bluff.
This week, Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips (R-39) introduced a bill which, if adopted, woudl cut the state’s sales and use tax from 6.625% to 6% effective January 1, 2026.
“The Murphy administration has raised taxes by $21 billion and a dozen tax increases were just passed by Trenton Democrats to fund our state budget. It’s time to test their election-year talking points on affordability by pressuring them to slash the sales tax to help struggling families. This is a tax cut people will feel every day, not a gimmick or rebate that only gets processed at politically convenient times,” explained DePhillips.
All but five U.S. states impose a statewide sales tax on consumers, and New Jersey’s is higher than neighboring Pennsylvania (6.34%), Connecticut (6.35%), and Delaware (0%). The current rate is almost a decade old; it dropped from 7% during Chris Christie’s send term in office as part of a compromise that simultaneously hiked the gas tax. New Jersey’s sales tax is also the state’s single largest source of revenue, accounting for roughly $14 billion annually.
“The state sales tax is regressive, disproportionately burdening working families and people living paycheck-to-paycheck. Every time a consumer goes shopping, Trenton takes its cut. The state has a real spending problem that is contributing to our affordability crisis,” added DePhillips. “Local economies would get a boost and we would become more competitive if the sales tax was lowered. The costs of energy, car repairs, food and life’s other unavoidable expenses will go down.”
“My tax cut proposal represents an opportunity for New Jersey to take the lead in a good way for once by demonstrating that the state is serious about affordability,” DePhillips continued. “If the majority on the other side of the aisle really wants to begin to address the root causes of this crisis, they should start with my bill.”
We won’t hold our breath! But we’ll keep you in the loop.
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MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com’s founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of ‘The Matt Rooney Show’ on 1210 WPHT every Saturday evening from 7-9 PM EST.
