Guy Gregg's senior moment

While leaving last night's Township Committee meeting, I had a short conversation with Washington Township Republican Committee Chairman Guy Gregg. I asked Guy if he had read my DR opinion piece, which he said he had. I told him I looked forward to the lower taxes Christie has promised. At this point Guy seemed to suffer a senior moment. To insure Guy's condition is not contagious amongst all NJ Republicans, below you will find Christie’s tax promises as they appeared on his campaign website:

New Jersey has the highest tax burden in the country and it’s getting worse - the latest Corzine budget just raised taxes by another $1.2 billion. We’re also burdened with the highest property taxes in the country, but that didn't stop Jon Corzine from taking away property tax rebates from 1.2 million New Jerseyans in this year’s budget. In fact, Jon Corzine and Jim McGreevey have raised taxes on the average New Jersey family by more than $10,000 since 2002 – over $22 billion in taxes, the highest in the nation. In all, Corzine and Governor McGreevey have raised over 100 taxes on New Jersey’s hardworking families.

This will change in a Christie Administration. New Jersey’s hard-working middle-class families can no longer handle the weight of these out of control taxes. The first step to reversing New Jersey's declining economic climate and giving New Jerseyans a little relief is by cutting property taxes.

Provide Property Tax Relief

The last thing Chris will do is to follow Corzine's lead in eliminating property tax rebates for 1.2 million New Jerseyans. The rebate currently is the only property tax relief we have, and it provides much needed, meaningful help while we put in place other reforms. We keep the rebate in place to give taxpayers some breathing room in these tough economic times.

Reduce New Jersey’s income tax

Chris Christie will commit to cutting New Jersey’s gross income tax during his first 4-year term as Governor. Cutting these taxes will make New Jersey more affordable for our hard-working families, encourage investment in and expansion of New Jersey-based small business, and make our tax policies more competitive with the other states in the region that have better private sector job growth.

Chris Christie will seek two types of income tax reductions:

• “Across the board” rate cut for all taxpayers

• Additional cut or credit for those taxpayers who derive business income from New Jersey-based small businesses.

Reduce the corporate business tax rate to give New Jersey a competitive advantage

It will be a top priority for the Christie Administration to reduce corporate business tax rates.

Reducing the corporate business tax rate, as part of an overall economic recovery effort, will create a better business climate to attract private sector investment.

Eliminate the “double-taxation” on New Jersey S-Corporations

80,000 S-Corporation taxpayers currently pay the corporation “minimum” tax, up to $2,000 per year, based on their total gross receipts. The Christie Administration will eliminate the “double taxation” on New Jersey’s S-Corporations in line with the other 47 states and federal government which have implemented this policy.

Eliminate the hidden “investment tax” on New Jersey-based businesses

The “investment tax” acts as a penalty for businesses for being based in New Jersey. Instead of being taxed for only the amount of sales in New Jersey, the “investment tax” also factors in the level of investment (i.e., real estate, payroll, etc.) a company has in New Jersey. Chris Christie will change New Jersey’s tax policy to enact a “single-sales” factor for New Jersey-based companies to enable them to better compete.