OT: Looks like gas is going up 23 cents a gallon in NJ

[Knight Shift]

If this money actually goes toward improving our crappy roads I will be all for it.

And case in point that our roads are not crappy. They are in the middle/end of repaving Route 36 in Hazlet. There was not a thing wrong with that road. Seems NJ roads are on some sort of fixed schedule for repaving, regardless of whether they need it or not. Would love to be a paving contractor on the NJ list.

 

[mildone]

Yea for sweatshirts etc. I'm talking about business related stuff one can't buy on Amazon. Not to mention independent contractors etc. to be honest, I haven't paid any attention to this so I don't know enough to determine if I'm for or against it. However, I'm pretty sure of two things:
The money will not end up where it's supposed to go.
It will hurt small businesses and the middle class more than anyone.

I buy almost everything on Amazon Prime. Way more than sweatshirts, etc.

I'm sure there are things (raw materials) that one can't buy on Amazon for business purposes, but I'm often surprised what I can buy there. What business-related stuff do you mean, specifically?

And the money revenue from the gas tax is sent directly to the Transportation Fund, which constrains it's use quite a bit.

 

[LevaosLectures]

the biggest loss in the proposal is the exclusion of the estate tax in the tax cut. there are plenty of retirees in my parents circle looking at that specifically to determine whether they stay in NJ long-term. looks like they're going to be leaving.

The estate tax mainly hits the wealthy, and is therefore the kind of progressive tax I usually support (as opposed to the sales tax, which is regressive). That being said, the threshold seems a little low and should probably be bumped up to at least $1 million.

 

[eceres]

Twitter advertising from airline association had the following micro site on this:

http://stopjetfueltaxhike.com/

 

[LevaosLectures]

So there still will be a $750. inheritance tax on the $5000. bequest I have going to my niece in my will. Lovely.

Oh no, your niece will lose a little bit of her free windfall!!!!
Seriously, complaining about the inheritance tax given its many exemptions is just silly. No tax at all on money left to a child or grandchild, which probably covers the vast majority of inheritances.

 

[RUevolution36]

The estate tax mainly hits the wealthy, and is therefore the kind of progressive tax I usually support (as opposed to the sales tax, which is regressive). That being said, the threshold seems a little low and should probably be bumped up to at least $1 million.

if NJ were to tie it to the federal exemption, people would be more likely to stay and it would be less of an issue. and i wouldn't call the estate tax for the "wealthy". it's hurting the middle to upper middle class beneficiaries the hardest. plus, we have the estate tax AND the inheritance tax, which is especially burdensome.

 

[Upstream]

the biggest loss in the proposal is the exclusion of the estate tax in the tax cut. there are plenty of retirees in my parents circle looking at that specifically to determine whether they stay in NJ long-term. looks like they're going to be leaving.

I agree that the loss of the estate tax cut is a big loss here. But it is balanced with an increase in the retirement income exclusion. Currently the exclusion for retirement income is $15K single / $20K married. It is increasing to $75K single / $100K married. That is a big bump. (Potentially that is worth much more than the estate tax. Currently if you leave an estate worth $1MM, you pay 3.3% or $33K in estate tax. If your estate is $2MM, you pay about 5%, and if your estate is $4MM you pay about 5.7%.)

The sales tax reduction is not all that meaningful to most people since NJ doesn't apply sales tax to unprepared food or clothing. With a $0.23 gas tax increase, if you drive 15,000 miles per year and get 20 mpg, you will pay $172,50 more per year in gas tax. That means you need to buy $17,250 per year (or $331 per week) in taxable goods to offset the gas tax increase. And that is for every car in your household that travels 15,000 miles per year. That is a lot of taxable goods.

 

[TonyLieske]

And case in point that our roads are not crappy. They are in the middle/end of repaving Route 36 in Hazlet. There was not a thing wrong with that road. Seems NJ roads are on some sort of fixed schedule for repaving, regardless of whether they need it or not. Would love to be a paving contractor on the NJ list.

I will admit I am no expert on who funds which road repairs. What I do know is the roads I drive on are pretty crappy. I have no idea which ones are municipal/country/state though (or if such a distinction even exists). I do know I currently have a wheel waiting to be fixed because it bent when I hit a huge (yuge?) pothole.

 

[vkj91]

National shipping is probably projected easy above NJ gas prices. With this increase we are still a cheaper state for gas.

I'm against

But most small businesses are using local companies for supplies.

 

[vkj91]

I buy almost everything on Amazon Prime. Way more than sweatshirts, etc.

I'm sure there are things (raw materials) that one can't buy on Amazon for business purposes, but I'm often surprised what I can buy there. What business-related stuff do you mean, specifically?

And the money revenue from the gas tax is sent directly to the Transportation Fund, which constrains it's use quite a bit.

Blow and women to be converted into prostitutes. But I do buy their sweatshirts, mirrors, and straws on Prime.

 

[mdk01]

Oh no, your niece will lose a little bit of her free windfall!!!!
Seriously, complaining about the inheritance tax given its many exemptions is just silly. No tax at all on money left to a child or grandchild, which probably covers the vast majority of inheritances.

And what if you're single? Remember, while the threshold for the estate tax is the lowest in the country it's still 675k. There is no threshold for nieces/nephews with respect to the inheritance tax. If my entire net worth was $5000. NJ would still demand the $750. For bequests to brothers and sisters the exemption is 25k, and the tax starts at 11%. That's utterly absurd.

 

[LOU-RU85]

This state is ridiculous - trade 1 cent for 23 cents - yea that's fair

 

[IMARUFAN]

Legalize pot and most of the state's financial woes will be solved.

If you did that, before you know it the entire state would be addicted to heroin. :rolleyes:

 

[rutgersguy1]

It's not a done deal quite yet.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/06/christie_democrats_negotiating_lower_gas_tax.html

I don't mind it, personally. A .23 gas tax combined with a 1% across the board sales tax cut would, I'm pretty sure, lower my overall tax burden in NJ.

But I spend a lot and have no regular commute. For people who don't spend a lot and who have long commutes, it would probably be a net increase in tax burden.

Depending on how the law is written, it could be a big, although temporary, boost to employment in NJ since the gas tax revenue would be put into the Transportation Trust Fund, not the general fund. So it has that going for it. Maybe.

The article you posted is from yesterday evening. I believe it's old and the deal was approved late night and this article is from this morning.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ss...s_tax_c.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

 

[RUevolution36]

I will admit I am no expert on who funds which road repairs. What I do know is the roads I drive on are pretty crappy. I have no idea which ones are municipal/country/state though (or if such a distinction even exists). I do know I currently have a wheel waiting to be fixed because it bent when I hit a huge (yuge?) pothole.

There is a distinction. County roads are handled by the county. Muni by muni. US highways and interstates by NJ DOT. Tpk and GSP by turnpike authority. AC expressway by some other agency. River crossings by joint state agencies like port authority or the Delaware river crossing one.

 

[Knight Shift]

I will admit I am no expert on who funds which road repairs. What I do know is the roads I drive on are pretty crappy. I have no idea which ones are municipal/country/state though (or if such a distinction even exists). I do know I currently have a wheel waiting to be fixed because it bent when I hit a huge (yuge?) pothole.

Where do you drive? I will admit that whenever I have had to drive through some of the inner cities (Trenton, Paterson, Newark, Camden), the streets can be in pretty bad shape.

 

[LotusAggressor]

If this money actually goes toward improving our crappy roads I will be all for it.

It's not exactly a guarantee that will happen. It's more likely that the money will be wasted on something else. Then we'll have crappy roads and expensive gas.

 

[koleszar]

Shipping costs will go up. So the 1% tax decrease (if it happens) will be off set with the price increase of the item because of trucking of flying it in. NJ truly sucks when it comes to ****ing the people out of their hard earned pennies.

Yes shipping costs will be affected. That 1% sales tax drop will be made up for and probably more, by increased shipping costs pawned off on the customer. This is bad, they grabbed from the transportation fund to pay for pet projects, now they scream poverty. Some of this money will be diverted from this fund in a couple years to cover their incompetent spending. Aviation fuel from what I understand cannot be touched as this is Federally regulated. Another gift from south jersey voters and their desire to keep incumbent Sweeny in office, this is his pet project.

This tax is going to hit small business the most and consumer's of those business. It happened once before with shipping costs and when gas went back down those costs remained. This tax is going to give shipping companies the excuse they need to increase prices. Which in turn will be passed onto you the customer. Anyone who says different is flat out wrong. I know from my own personnel experience of owning a small business.

 

[nukem]

How anyone can be on board with this tax is crazy to me. Do you understand how much we are taxed in this state? How can anyone in their right mind say this is ok? They have enough money to do what they need to do. Seriously, when is enough, enough?

 

[mildone]

The article you posted is from yesterday evening. I believe it's old and the deal was approved late night and this article is from this morning.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ss...s_tax_c.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

Yes, you're correct. Still needs to pass the Senate though, if I understand correctly.

 

[TonyLieske]

Where do you drive? I will admit that whenever I have had to drive through some of the inner cities (Trenton, Paterson, Newark, Camden), the streets can be in pretty bad shape.

Mainly in and around Cumberland and Gloucester counties.

 

[Knight Shift]

Mainly in and around Cumberland and Gloucester counties.

No offense, but I used to jokingly say to folks that lived South of Ocean County that those areas were not part of New Jersey. Much cheaper housing and less crowded than the rest of NJ. Shouldn't Norcross be pulling in $$$ for South Jersey roads?

 

[newell138]

How anyone can be on board with this tax is crazy to me. Do you understand how much we are taxed in this state? How can anyone in their right mind say this is ok? They have enough money to do what they need to do. Seriously, when is enough, enough?

This attitude of saying its OK, is exactly why the same crooks keep getting re-elected. We deserve what we get. I agree, we are the most taxed state in the country and people say its not that bad. I guess its like the battered wife syndrome.

 

[TonyLieske]

No offense, but I used to jokingly say to folks that lived South of Ocean County that those areas were not part of New Jersey. Much cheaper housing and less crowded than the rest of NJ. Shouldn't Norcross be pulling in $$$ for South Jersey roads?

Maybe. If he is none of that money is getting spent on the roads I drive on! You are definitely right about the cheaper housing though, FWIW.

 

[Knight Shift]

Maybe. If he is none of that money is getting spent on the roads I drive on! You are definitely right about the cheaper housing though, FWIW.

Tend to think that Southern NJ gets the shaft when it comes to attention to roads and infrastructure. Monmouth County is pretty on top of things, but going further South into Ocean County, you can see things decline a bit.

 

[mildone]

And case in point that our roads are not crappy.

They seem pretty bad to me in many places. For instance, the NJ Turnpike needs significant repaving in many areas.

Hypothetically speaking, while it may be possible to safely drive 150mph on the newly extended car lanes south of exit 8a (being careful of some dips at transitions from road to bridges), it's next to impossible to safely drive a pedestrian 120mph or so in the truck lanes anywhere from the airport exit down to Exit 6.

This is simply unacceptable.

 

[mildone]

This attitude of saying its OK, is exactly why the same crooks keep getting re-elected. We deserve what we get. I agree, we are the most taxed state in the country and people say its not that bad. I guess its like the battered wife syndrome.

What's your alternative plan for generating the revenue to repair our bridges and roads?

 

[FastMJ]

It didn't take long for Christie to cave in. The second part is that sales tax will go down from 7 to 6%. So if you buy a car for 25,000 you will save $250 but you will pay $250 for every 1086 gallons of gas you buy. If you use about 20 gallons of gas a week that is almost 1086 gallons a year.

Well, maybe you can stop using 20 gallons of gas a week and help our environment in the process.

 

[RU-AGK]

What's your alternative plan for generating the revenue to repair our bridges and roads?

From here on out every PW in the state will actually PAY to work. I mean after all, they took their jobs because they love their communities so it shouldn't be a problem for them to work for free. Big hearted business men like some of the d-nozzles on this board will toss coins out their windows as they drive by so the workers can fight gladiator style for their amusement. Small time operators who somehow think they're the Illuminati will be entertained and relatively unburdened by taxes for services and the PWs can eat what they kill.

Everybody wins.

See how that works in everyone's favor?

 

[RUScrew85]

Way overdue. Should have been done over the winter when gas was even cheaper.

Sales tax dropping from 7% to 6%.

Yeah because the government know what to do with your money better than you do. SMH.

 

[RUScrew85]

Sounds like the sales tax will go down from 7% to 6% by 2018 also.

LOL. Yeah that will totally happen. Rubes.

 

[mildone]

From here on out every PW in the state will actually PAY to work. I mean after all, they took their jobs because they love their communities so it shouldn't be a problem for them to work for free. Big hearted business men like some of the d-nozzles on this board will toss coins out their windows as they drive by so the workers can fight gladiator style for their amusement. Small time operators who somehow think they're the Illuminati will be entertained and relatively unburdened by taxes for services and the PWs can eat what they kill.

Everybody wins.

See how that works in everyone's favor?

Well sure, that would be one way to go. [laughing]

Although, I think your plan would be more efficient if the PWs eat who they kill, not what they kill.

 

[RUScrew85]

It is NOT. There is nothing attach to this that says it can ONLY used for fixing Roads.

Our budget is bloated beyond belief, we should just cut other things to fix the roads. Instead, we will all end up spending more money and nothing will get fixed for most people.

Where I live the roads are always getting upgraded, so this will have zero benefit.

But our gas prices will go up and you can bet the price of groceries and everything else that gets delivered anywhere will go up as well.

We will have little to show for it besides small bank accounts.

Any increase in revenue will only turn into more waste, graft and political payoffs.

 

[mildone]

LOL. Yeah that will totally happen. Rubes.

Could happen if we legalize and tax pot and blow. And hookers, of course.

 

[RU-AGK]

Well sure, that would be one way to go. [laughing]

Although, I think your plan would be more efficient if the PWs eat who they kill, not what they kill.

That's what I meant. Guess I worded it poorly. Victim of my public education. Although animals found roadside (dead or alive) can be considered "what"s, correct?

 

[LevaosLectures]

And what if you're single? Remember, while the threshold for the estate tax is the lowest in the country it's still 675k. There is no threshold for nieces/nephews with respect to the inheritance tax. If my entire net worth was $5000. NJ would still demand the $750. For bequests to brothers and sisters the exemption is 25k, and the tax starts at 11%. That's utterly absurd.

Why should non-dependent heirs get tax free money that they never spent a second working for? It's far more ethical than taxing earnings. Like I said, the people most likely to need an inheritance (children and maybe grandchildren) get off paying nothing. This is the absolute last place we should be looking to cut taxes. Again, who gives a crap if someone's niece gets a little less free money?

 

[NotInRHouse]

I don't where people are driving, but we have a ton of roads that are a mess.

Off the top of my head for roads that people here on drive a lot, 1/9, the Turnpike, 22, 78, and 18 right by RU have rattled my car to the point music skipped or things moved around in the car.

Then there are things you don't see. Do you think Minnesotans were crying for a tax increase when a bridge there collapsed? Among others around the country.

I agree the 675k is ridiculously low and essentially a middle class tax when you consider how values of NJ real estate have sprung in a lot of places.

What people who say we are "taxed enough" often forget that is that NJ is ranked among the best if not the best in terms of K-12 education and that public services are generally superior to what other states have. Yes there is corruption and overspending, but that is a lot of places outside of NJ as well.

I always ask the people complaining- why not leave? What is stopping you? You really think it's going to be better in PA, NC, FL, wherever- OK. America is a free country, pack up and tell us how it goes. I think you will find a severe decrease in school quality at a minimum. Kansas can't even keep schools open. Not to mention salaries will be lower. Retiring is one thing. Raising a family and/or working is another. There is a reason why states considered high tax tend to also very high populations.

 

[LevaosLectures]

Any increase in revenue will only turn into more waste, graft and political payoffs.

How anyone can be on board with this tax is crazy to me. Do you understand how much we are taxed in this state? How can anyone in their right mind say this is ok? They have enough money to do what they need to do. Seriously, when is enough, enough?

Because our roads and bridges are falling apart.

 

[mildone]

Why should non-dependent heirs get tax free money that they never spent a second working for? It's far more ethical than taxing earnings. Like I said, the people most likely to need an inheritance (children and maybe grandchildren) get off paying nothing. This is the absolute last place we should be looking to cut taxes. Again, who gives a crap if someone's niece gets a little less free money?

I have a solution that's on-topic and everything.

We should gas all non-dependent heirs, I will gladly pay the .23 tax for the gas, and direct the estate funds to my account in the Caymans.

 

[LevaosLectures]

That's just the assembly, though. The senate still has to vote.