Wednesday, March 29, 2006

All Politicians Stink...

...but currently, the Dems seem to stink a little more. This piece reminds us that, no matter how ugly the spending habits of the GOP have been these past 5 year, putting the Dems in charge is unlikely to change things for the better. No matter what they promise.

Mr. Corzine won the Trenton statehouse last year by running as a tax cutter who'd raise property tax rebates by 40% over four years. "I'm not considering raising taxes. It's not on my agenda. We have a very high-rate tax structure. I'm not considering it," the then-U.S. Senator had vowed in October.

Well, last week Governor Corzine removed the Steve Forbes mask and submitted a record $30.9 billion budget that increases state spending by 9% and includes $1.5 billion in new levies. He wants to raise the already high state sales tax by 16% and extend it to services; hike taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and expensive cars; and create a new state water tax. And just so Garden State entrepreneurs don't feel left out, his budget would impose a corporate tax surcharge and a commercial property transfer tax. "There are no immediate plans," joked one local paper, "to tax the air we breathe--not this year, at least."

When we fled NJ in 1998, we paid $3600 a year in property taxes on a condo assessed at $107,000. And taxes have gone up substantially from there. Jaw-dropping.

1 comment:

Granted said...

Who knew moving to "Taxachusetts" would actually reduce our tax burden.