NJ Assembly - Allow towns to tax (Isn't this how the property tax problem happened?)!

From Newsday.com:

Assembly lawmakers on Tuesday said the state should weigh allowing cities and towns to impose their own taxes as more woes were predicted for New Jersey's troubled state finances.

Why is it that I keep getting the feeling that the lawmakers in this state more closely resemble keystone cops than responsible adults?

Rosen's estimate comes with many decrying Corzine's proposed cuts, but Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, said the estimate makes it tough to find alternatives because restoring funding would come "at that expense of something else."

But Greenwald said lawmakers should look at how other states let municipalities charge their own taxes.

New Jersey local governments raise nearly all their revenue from property taxes, which average $6,800 per property owner in New Jersey, twice the national average.

The problem with lawmakers here in New Jersey is that they assume that every spending item approved in the past is valid and must be retained. So, any time cuts are proposed, they must be taking away something really important. But that is a circuitous argument with virtually no hope of ever solving any problem without going back to the taxpayer for more money. And that is exactly what this new bunch of incompetents wants to do:

But New York, for instance, allows local governments to add their own sales taxes. Many states and cities allow local income taxes. Some have a personal property tax on cars, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles.

"We ought to look at that, too," said Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, D-Hudson.

Greenwald noted many decry local levies a tax increase but rejected that reasoning.

"It is not if it is offset by stabilizing property taxes," he said.

Corzine said letting municipalities impose their own taxes "makes sense and could potentially go a long way to relieving some of the pressure that exists with property taxes," but was uncertain amid economic worries.

So there you go, you see that according to these politicians, we can add a whole new set of fees, taxes and assessments on anything that moves at the local level. And if you CLAIM that your goal is to reduce property taxes, it is ok. But it won't be okay because the legislators have NO INTENTION ON REDUCING SPENDING ON ANYTHING.

They didn't when they passed "Property Tax Relief".
They didn't when they passed the increase in the sales tax and applied it to hospital beds, health clubs, music downloads and other assorted items. This collected an additional 2 billion (yes billion) dollars to the state budget. And noone seems to know where it went (maybe Corzine's girlfriend's Union?).

Guess what. Property taxes went up the next year because Governor Corzine and his pals increased spending.

Until this state gets an adult leader (not Corzine) and a corruption free legislature (not this one), I really don't see a change. It will probably take a few million New Jersey residents marching on the state house to change this mess. That is, if that many residents are left.

Read the entire article here.

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