New Jersey Politics
Discuss the New Jersey political scene and the happenings in Trenton. New Jersey is led by Governor Jon Corzine and other elected officials including Senator Jon Corzine. Post blog entries, participate in the forum, or suggest articles... [more]
Discuss the New Jersey political scene and the happenings in Trenton. New Jersey is led by Governor Jon Corzine and other elected officials including Senator Jon Corzine. Post blog entries, participate in the forum, or suggest articles about local New Jersey politics.
SAVE CHRISTMAS: Tell Trenton to Declare "Sales Tax Holiday"
Matt Rooney | November 16, 2009
A question for our elected hum bugs over in the New Jersey State House: would something benefiting taxpayers be too much to ask for during this much-discussed "lame duck" legislative session?
Christmas Day 2009 is only 38 days away, Save Jerseyans. Shortly, New Jersey Democrats will commence a lame duck session of the state legislature they control, and newspaper columnists, internet pundits, social activists and political prognosticators of all stripes are already busy offering their suggestions and predictions. This is the last chance for Carla Katz's ex-boyfriend (a.k.a. soon-to-be-former Governor Jon S. Corzine) to improve upon his -- and I'm being extraordinarily kind here -- uninspiring governing legacy. Consequently, this is an absolutely wonderful opportunity to give overtaxed New Jerseyans an early, yet long-desired, Christmas present for the ages: substantial tax relief heading into the Holiday Season!
But the suggestions I'm hearing out of Trenton, as of this writing, are positively inane! For example, do our legislators truly believe that legalizing medical marijuana is worthy of debate when New Jersey is teetering on the brink of complete financial collapse and our broken economy is in complete tatters? Sheesh! I think these hippies in Trenton would sooner smoke mistletoe if given the chance than place it in your stocking without a new tax attached! Pardon my cynicism, but you'll just have to forgive me for stubbornly contending that this is no time for resurrecting tired, played-out social policy debates.
Specifically, the gay marriage debate cannot be satisfactorily resolved through simple legislation so please take my advice and indefinitely shelve any further philosophical rancor over the definition of marriage. There ARE more pressing issues at hand that we can adequately address without delay. How's this for starters? Pretty soon, homosexual couples AND heterosexual couples won't be able to afford to maintain a business or a home anywhere in this state. The taxpayers are tired of divisive issues; they want action before it's too late to rescue New Jersey.
I only wish everyone in state politics felt that way! Jon Corzine and his allies in the State House just spent the better part of a decade wasting the taxpayers' time on selecting a state song, banning the death penalty, and dithering away countless precious hours while New Jersey's financial health wasted away. Now we're staring down the barrel at a $10 billion deficit, but the Dems still have one last chance to accomplish something useful before Governor-elect Christie forces them into action. Here's my suggestion: at the beginning of this lame duck session, the legislature should move immediately to institute a "sales tax holiday" spanning from Thanksgiving (November 26th) through the weekend immediately following New Year's Day (January 3rd).
This proposal is exactly what Assemblymen Vince Polistina and John Amodeo (R-Atlantic) championed last year. During a sales tax "holiday," the Garden State's Corzine-inspired 7% sales tax would be temporarily lowered to 3 ½%. In urban enterprise zones where the economic need is greatest, the state sales tax rate would dip from 3 ½% all the way down to 1.75% throughout the entirety of the year's biggest retail boom.
Yes, Virginia: Jon Corzine, Joe Roberts and Dick Codey can literally save Christmas by allowing holiday shoppers to save more money at their local mall's cash registers. That would lead to more Yuletide consumption and, at tax time, larger business tax revenues for Trenton's badly depleted coffers. This isn't rocket science, ladies and gentlemen! A flying reindeer could wrap its antlers around this math.
So com'on, Mr. Corzine. It's time to start acting like that other famous guy with the beard. A "white" Christmas be damned. You can lead the way and make New Jersey's Christmas very merry, bright and GREEN by supporting a statewide sales tax holiday!
FLASHBACK: N.J. Republicans Propose "Sales Tax Holiday" in October 2008
A question for our elected hum bugs over in the New Jersey State House: would something benefiting taxpayers be too much to ask for during this much-discussed "lame duck" legislative session?
Christmas Day 2009 is only 38 days away, Save Jerseyans. Shortly, New Jersey Democrats will commence a lame duck session of the state legislature they control, and newspaper columnists, internet pundits, social activists and political prognosticators of all stripes are already busy offering their suggestions and predictions. This is the last chance for Carla Katz's ex-boyfriend (a.k.a. soon-to-be-former Governor Jon S. Corzine) to improve upon his -- and I'm being extraordinarily kind here -- uninspiring governing legacy. Consequently, this is an absolutely wonderful opportunity to give overtaxed New Jerseyans an early, yet long-desired, Christmas present for the ages: substantial tax relief heading into the Holiday Season!
But the suggestions I'm hearing out of Trenton, as of this writing, are positively inane! For example, do our legislators truly believe that legalizing medical marijuana is worthy of debate when New Jersey is teetering on the brink of complete financial collapse and our broken economy is in complete tatters? Sheesh! I think these hippies in Trenton would sooner smoke mistletoe if given the chance than place it in your stocking without a new tax attached! Pardon my cynicism, but you'll just have to forgive me for stubbornly contending that this is no time for resurrecting tired, played-out social policy debates.
Specifically, the gay marriage debate cannot be satisfactorily resolved through simple legislation so please take my advice and indefinitely shelve any further philosophical rancor over the definition of marriage. There ARE more pressing issues at hand that we can adequately address without delay. How's this for starters? Pretty soon, homosexual couples AND heterosexual couples won't be able to afford to maintain a business or a home anywhere in this state. The taxpayers are tired of divisive issues; they want action before it's too late to rescue New Jersey.
I only wish everyone in state politics felt that way! Jon Corzine and his allies in the State House just spent the better part of a decade wasting the taxpayers' time on selecting a state song, banning the death penalty, and dithering away countless precious hours while New Jersey's financial health wasted away. Now we're staring down the barrel at a $10 billion deficit, but the Dems still have one last chance to accomplish something useful before Governor-elect Christie forces them into action. Here's my suggestion: at the beginning of this lame duck session, the legislature should move immediately to institute a "sales tax holiday" spanning from Thanksgiving (November 26th) through the weekend immediately following New Year's Day (January 3rd).
This proposal is exactly what Assemblymen Vince Polistina and John Amodeo (R-Atlantic) championed last year. During a sales tax "holiday," the Garden State's Corzine-inspired 7% sales tax would be temporarily lowered to 3 ½%. In urban enterprise zones where the economic need is greatest, the state sales tax rate would dip from 3 ½% all the way down to 1.75% throughout the entirety of the year's biggest retail boom.
Yes, Virginia: Jon Corzine, Joe Roberts and Dick Codey can literally save Christmas by allowing holiday shoppers to save more money at their local mall's cash registers. That would lead to more Yuletide consumption and, at tax time, larger business tax revenues for Trenton's badly depleted coffers. This isn't rocket science, ladies and gentlemen! A flying reindeer could wrap its antlers around this math.
So com'on, Mr. Corzine. It's time to start acting like that other famous guy with the beard. A "white" Christmas be damned. You can lead the way and make New Jersey's Christmas very merry, bright and GREEN by supporting a statewide sales tax holiday!
- Take the fight to the Grinches! Find your legislators' contact info over lunch and tell them to support a holiday: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp
FLASHBACK: N.J. Republicans Propose "Sales Tax Holiday" in October 2008
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