Assembly Republican Budget Committee

REPUBLICAN BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER CORZINE TAX HIKE/SPENDING PLANS

BUDGET EXPANDS SPENDING AND HITS ALMOST EVERY TAXPAYER
March 21, 2006
Assemblyman Joseph Malone/609-298-6250
Assemblyman Frank Blee/609-407-0407
Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole/973-696-2323
Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose/973-726-0954

REPUBLICAN BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER CORZINE TAX HIKE/SPENDING PLANS

BUDGET EXPANDS SPENDING AND HITS ALMOST EVERY TAXPAYER

The four Republican members of the Assembly Budget Committee today reacted to Governor Jon Corzine's budget address by expressing concern that the budget proposal will have a negative impact on almost every taxpayer in the state of New Jersey.

Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joseph Malone said he believes the governor is dealing with a very complex fiscal problem inherited from his predecessor, but that turning to massive tax hikes is not the best way to solve that problem.

"The governor is right that there are no easy answers to this budget dilemma," said Malone, R-Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth and Mercer. "I believe that he is making an honest effort to address those problems, but this budget places too heavy a burden on our taxpayers."

Governor Corzine today announced a Fiscal Year 2007 budget that increases spending by $2.88 billion while increasing the state sales tax, freezing aid to school districts and providing only minimal increases in homestead rebates.

"We will spend the next three months working to improve on this flawed proposal," said Assemblyman Frank Blee, R-Atlantic. "This budget fails to seriously address property taxes while resorting to higher taxes to cover what is a substantial increase in spending."

The Corzine proposal includes new business and real estate taxes, another hike in the cigarette tax, an expansion of the sales tax to cover gym memberships, landscaping services, tanning salons and carpet cleaners (among other service providers), and a full one percent increase in the state sales tax.

"Just a week ago the Assembly approved a Transportation Trust Fund bill that buries the taxpayers under a mountain of debt," said Assemblyman Kevin O’Toole, R-Essex, Passaic and Bergen. "Today the governor added to that burden by piling on more than a billion dollars in new taxes. The taxpayers cannot afford this budget."

"It is unfair for the governor to expect our state’s taxpayers to accept these massive tax hikes when the size of the state budget is increasing by nearly $3 billion," said Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon. "The only spending cuts in this budget are the cuts that taxpayers will have to make to their family budgets in order to support the new taxes this budget will generate."

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