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Showing posts with label Taxes. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Taxes. Show all posts

NJ: Damned Right, We'll Accept Federal Help!

Some friends are accusingly asking conservatives in New Jersey: "Will you now gladly accept federal aid for Irene recovery when you've consistently call for cutting federal largesse?"
These liberals must think this is an important "gotcha" moment. It isn't.
The correct answer to their inane question is: "Why not?"
Consider this: Federal data shows New Jersey gets less from Washington for each dollar in federal taxes paid than any other state -- 61 cents per dollar.
So yes -- we'll take the money; especially since we're losing 39 cents* on the dollar and it was our taxes that put the money there in the first place.
When I hear liberals (and much of the media, for that matter) singing the praises of federal grants and outlays as if they were part of some vast treasure of found money -- like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow -- I scratch my head in amazement.
Remember what Ronald Reagan said: It's your money. You paid the taxes. You put that money there in the first place. Government doesn't turn a profit. It makes no money on its own. Pretty much whatever money it gets comes from you.
Now New Jersey needs the money -- our money. And we'll happily accept whatever we can get back from the federal government.
*Memo to Senators Lautenberg and Menedez: Why does New Jersey STILL rank last on return of federal tax dollars? Why . . . . . ?

A Plethora Of Taxes Haunts Our Nation

Consider that none of the following taxes even existed 100 years ago.
And now they want even more.
Where will it end?
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax (aka "Death Tax")
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Debt Ceiling Deal: What's It Really All About?

Is it true that the debt ceiling deal only cuts $1 trillion over the next 10 years?
Is it true that it permits the expiration of the Bush tax cuts thus triggering an effective tax increase?
Is it true that it seems to permit a vote on a balanced budget amendment while still preventing such a vote?
And is it true that it defers real confrontation of the debt and runaway spending to a significantly later date?
Are any of these things true? Several of them? Any of them?
Let's pay attention carefully over the next 24 to 48 hours.
The answers to these questions are critical and will determine whether or not this so called "deal" really has the faith and confidence of the American people.

GOP: No Tax Hikes; Debt Deal Fails, Obama Walks

Singer Lauds Boost In Tax Relief For Seniors, Disabled

New Jersey Senator Robert Singer (R-Ocean), Senate Republican Conference Leader, issued the following statement after the Christie administration announced that they have already begun mailing Senior Freeze checks to senior and disabled homeowners. Checks for the Senior Freeze program, which protects senior citizens and disabled residents from increases in property taxes, will average more than $1,200 this year, going directly to recipients who earned $70,000 or less in 2009 and 2010.

"We are in a position to increase direct property tax relief for seniors and disabled residents because of the fiscal discipline shown over the past two years by Governor Christie and my Republican colleagues. "Democrats in New Jersey have a penchant to spend now and not worry about tomorrow. This shortsightedness over the past ten years during the McGreevey and Corzine era is a major reason why New Jersey and its families find themselves in such a difficult economic situation today.
"I am confident New Jersey is headed in a better direction as a result of our sound fiscal policies that puts the taxpayers first. The increase in tax relief for seniors and disabled residents today is a harbinger for things to come for all New Jersey families."

Christie: Senior Freeze, Homestead Tax Relief Secured

Highlighting the direct relief provided to New Jersey seniors in his Fiscal Year 2012 Budget, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today met with senior Sultana Kizides at her home in Perth Amboy to have a conversation about how his budget maintains fiscal discipline while prioritizing and funding core priorities to assist New Jersey seniors. Governor Christie’s budget doubles Homestead Benefits in Fiscal Year 2012 for New Jerseyans, providing property tax relief as a direct credit against homeowners’ property tax bills, and increases funding by $90 million for the Senior Freeze property tax relief program.

Senior Freeze checks are in the mail and on their way, and Homestead Benefits will be applied directly against homeowners’ property tax bills this year.

“Because of the priorities we funded in this budget, seniors and families will get the extra help they need to ease the strain on fixed incomes and family budgets,” said Governor Christie. “While we continue working to deliver lasting, long-term property tax relief, I am following through on my commitment to meet the needs of New Jersey seniors and families for immediate property tax relief in this year’s budget.

“The property tax crisis in New Jersey has squeezed our seniors and middle-class families, and we have attacked the underlying root of the problem with a 2 percent cap on property tax increases and fundamental reforms to drive down the cost of government. We’ve made real progress, but I will not stop until an affordable, secure future is a certainty for our families and future generations.”

The Christie Administration, through the Treasury Department’s Division of Taxation, has already begun mailing Senior Freeze checks to senior and disabled homeowners. Checks for the Senior Freeze program, which protects senior citizens and disabled residents from increases in property taxes, will average more than $1,200 this year, going directly to recipients who earned $70,000 or less in 2009 and 2010.

In difficult economic circumstances, Governor Christie signed into law a Fiscal Year 2012 Budget that maintains fiscal responsibility, while protecting critical priorities that serve New Jersey’s seniors and most vulnerable residents. As a result, senior and disabled homeowners with gross income up to $150,000 will receive Homestead Benefit credits averaging $540 this year, and non-senior homeowners with gross incomes up to $75,000 will receive credits averaging $404.

The Administration mailed out 116,000 Senior Freeze checks to applicants who filed by June 1 earlier this month. Those who filed after June 1 will receive checks throughout the coming months as the State processes applications. New applications are also being accepted because Governor Chris Christie extended the deadline for filing to October 31. In addition, the Governor and Legislature have provided funding for more applicants this year.

Every individual who qualifies for the Senior Freeze program will receive a benefit this year.

The Treasury Department is directly following up with applicants who filed incomplete applications in order to ensure every eligible New Jersey senior receives the benefit to which they are entitled. The Division of Taxation is mailing notices to 13,000 applicants who filed incomplete applications.

Anyone with questions can call the Property Tax Reimbursement Hotline at 1-800-882-6597. Those who filed their applications by June 1 should wait until July 25 before contacting the Division of Taxation to inquire about the status of their reimbursement checks.

Information about the program is also available on the Division of Taxation’s Web site at www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/.

Christie To Obama: You're Elected To Lead; So LEAD!

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says the federal budget stalemate is not his problem.
And since there is no deal yet -- and no details of a deal (only rumors) -- what's the point of commenting?
But, as Christie explains it: "What the hell . . . . " He might as well go ahead and comment.
And surely he knew this would make news.
So, here's the Big Guy firing away once again. Yo, Gov: Things were pretty dull while you were on your "working vacation." We missed you. It's great to have you back!

Obama Makes Up Poll Numbers In Bogus Appeal

During his windy news conference today President Obama argued that Americans want higher taxes.
And then he added that 80 percent of Americans support a tax increase to lower the federal debt.
It's an interesting figure -- a startling finding.
There's just one problem with it. It ain't true.
Leading poller Scott Rasmussen was just on the air debunking the President's figure. No poll shows people supporting a tax increase.
This should surprise no one. Republicans swept the 2010 congressional elections on a no tax hike, lower spending pledge. This was a cornerstone of their campaign and they won a huge victory.
Do you really think that could have happened if 80 percent of the voters supported higher taxes and continued mammouth government spending? I doubt it.
Ordinary, common-sense Americans want a halt to runaway taxing and spending.
Oh, and one other thing: Do you remember Obama saying that no one would have to pay higher taxes if he was elected President? I wonder what happened to that pledge.

Memo To GOP Leaders: Hold The Line

Congressional Republican leaders have just announced that they will vote next week on a cut, cap and balance bill.They are remaining united so they will have the votes to pass this legislation in the House and they will move it to the Senate.
Remember: All revenue legislation must originate in the House.
That gives the GOP-controlled House and Speaker John Boehner the upper hand.
The challenge for the Republicans is to remain firm and remain united -- to hold the line on taxes and spending.
My memo to my fine Republican congressman and to the entire GOP congressional leadership is this: Stand firm. Cut, cap and balance. Take the proper action and theN let the Democrats in the Senate figure out what they want to do about it.
The imperative is now with the GOP To keep its commitment to the American people and act boldly and decisively. Real, solid action CAN break this logjam.

Christie's Accomplishments: Real, Honest Progress

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has made the difficult decisions that have allowed New Jersey to dramatically increase funding for our schools, increase property tax rebates for seniors, maintain critical funding for the neediest citizens of our state while reducing government spending and cutting taxes to create jobs.

McConnell: 'Real Deal' Not Possible While Obama Rules

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell says that "a real solution [to the nation's staggering deby problem] is unattainable" so long as President Obama remains in office.
And Speaker of the House John Boehner says the President and his allies are basically all talk and no action when it comes to cutting spending and decreasing the nation's debt.
Here's a late-breaking excerpt from the Wall Street Journal:

"This debt-limit increase is his problem," Mr. Boehner said after a morning meeting with Republican House members. "The president talks a good game, but when it comes time to actually putting these issues on the table, making decisions, they can't quite pull the trigger."
Mr. McConnell said he concluded after the latest negotiations that the administration had "expressed a fundamental unwillingness" to agree to significant spending cuts.
"But after years of discussions and months of negotiations, I have little question that as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution is unattainable," Mr. McConnell said in a Senate floor speech.

Click here to read the full story.

Kean: It's Groundhog Day In Trenton -- Again!

“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?”

-Bill Murray, Groundhog Day, 1993

On Day Two of Senate Democrats’ quest to wipe out state reserve funds and plunge the state budget into the red for political purposes, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. (R- Union) issued the following statement:
It’s beginning to feel a bit like Groundhog Day in Trenton, with another set of politically motivated override votes scheduled by the Majority.
Just like yesterday, this is all about Democrats’ plans for a misleading smear campaign in the fall elections, not the best interests of taxpayers.
Just like yesterday, the Democrats are attempting to spend far more money than the state of New Jersey has in the bank.
And just like yesterday, Democrats will ignore the fact that they handed Governor Christie a budget that was nearly $1 billion out of balance and relied on false revenue estimates and phantom savings.
Their scare tactics, misinformation, and name calling didn’t accomplish anything yesterday. This movie is unlikely to be better the second time we all watch it.

Video: Christie On Taxes, Budget, Spending

Both in Washington and in the states, Democrats refuse to get real on the need to cut spending and be fiscally responsible -- to balance budgets without raising taxes.
In New Jersey, the Democrat legislature's budget rhetoric is simply history repeating itself.
No matter the budget year or circumstances, Democrats in the legislature have their budget rhetoric on repeat as they trot out the same recycled, overused and rabidly partisan rhetoric to distract from their own empty promises.
Governor Chris Christie knows that New Jerseyans are sick of the political gamesmanship and tired attacks. Instead of engaging in more political theatrics, legislative Democrats' efforts would be better spent addressing the issues they neglected over the past year -- like education reform for every New Jersey child and the unfinished business of the Governor's property tax relief tool kit.
Christie is determined to avoid the theatrics. He will not be lured into the political games. Instead, he will stick to his bold reform agenda for the Garden State.
He wants to do the Big Things.

Arrogant Obama: Pro Pols Know Better Than Public

O'Toole Condemns Sweeney's 'False Rhetoric'

New Jersey State Senator Kevin O’Toole, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, released the following statement condemning Senate President Sweeney’s false rhetoric and use of faulty surplus numbers:

“Senate President Sweeney should know better – but he and his Democratic colleagues continue to put on the same politically motivated charade using phony facts. The Senate President has used a faulty, inflated surplus size to justify his calls for spending the state simply cannot afford, but the facts simply prove him wrong. Just as they did with their own dishonest budget, Democrats are failing to account for large amounts of spending that must be considered and are not a part of surplus, including savings estimates from health benefits reform and the real cost of providing more property tax relief to seniors through the senior freeze program.

Democrats know their budget was nothing more than an election year gimmick and, even worse, they knew they did not have a way to pay for their promises. But that has not stopped Sweeney and the rest of the Democratic Party from fueling their rhetoric with distortions, bad math and ridiculous revenue assessments. It’s time for them to come clean about the real fiscal state of the budget, instead of continuing with their election year pandering.”

Kyrillos: NJ Democrats Playing On Emotions

New Jersey State Senator Joe Kyrillos released the following statement demanding that Trenton Democrats take a moment to understand that their election year games have real consequences.

"Trenton Democrats are using an election year to play on the emotions and real issues of our neediest citizens. By passing a budget filled with empty promises – but no funding – Trenton Democrats have crossed the line into the dangerous and disingenuous. Not only are they playing election year politics, they are doing so in a manner that misleads the public about specific programs, as well as the state's finances. Democrats overstate the surplus while ignoring that education funding has gone up $850 million over last year, funding for the AIDS Drug Distribution Program has been protected at the same level as last year, and hospital funding has gone up by $20 million.

"If these Democrats have any sense of decency they will be honest with the people they claim they want to help, instead of continuing to put forward myths, lies and distortions about what we can really afford."

Kean: United NJ GOP Won't Fall For Dem Budget Tricks

New Jersey Senate Republican Leader Sen. Tom Kean, Jr. on Democrat Attempts to Saddle Taxpayers With Nearly $900 Million in Additional Spending
Sen. Kean's remarks as delivered as delivered to the media this morning, July 11, 2011:

We are here for one reason and one reason only- the Democratic Majority saw more value in passing a political, election-year budget that was illegal and unbalanced from the minute it was introduced than in negotiating a budget with the Governor and Legislative Republicans.

And so today's override votes are really worse than political theater- they're offensive. They had the chance do to this properly by negotiating a budget- and they deliberately chose not to.

In our books, when you pass a budget that is nearly $1 billion out of balance, you lose the moral grounds to gripe and complain about what the Governor had to cut to make the books balance.

And when you post a board list that spends more money than the little surplus we have for a rainy day, that's outright irresponsible.

Today's override session isn't about public policy- it's about glossy "gotcha" mailers and TV ads for the fall campaign.

So we are here to tell you that a united Republican caucus is not going to fall for the Majority's political games.

NJ Dems Promise Showboat Summer

Fresh on the heels of Senate President Sean Sweeney's near-rabid attack on Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey Democrats (who control the state legislature) are all twisted in knots over the Governor's line-item veto of items in their wish-upon-a-star state budget.
Christie had a simple explanation for his action: "We can't afford it."
Dems (as usual) argued that a tax increase could handle that. But when Christie says "no" on taxes, he means "NO!"
So now the Democrats are promising summer hearings on this and other matters.
That has prompted Governor Christie’s press secretary, Michael Drewniak, to issue the following statement in response to the Democrats’ announcement of plans for summer budget hearings:

“Unless the Democrats in the legislature just found a money tree behind the Statehouse, they still have no way to pay for their election-year spending spree. Clearly, these summer hearings will be nothing more than political theater with the same recycled, overused and rabidly partisan rhetoric the Democrats regularly default to for each budget, regardless of the year or circumstances. If the Democrats in the legislature plan to come back to work this summer, their efforts would be better spent on the issues they neglected over the past year – like education reform for every New Jersey child and the unfinished business of the Governor’s property tax relief tool kit.”

BTW: In carrying out the line item veto, the Governor acted totally within his authority under New Jersey's constitution.

No, The GOP Has NOT Been Hijacked

New York Times columnist David Brooks says the Republican Party has been hijacked by an abnormal "faction" and is in danger of being marginalized.
I don't agree with David Brooks and I'm not worried about the future of the Republican Party.
The Republican Party is no more "infected" today than it was in 1980 when Ronald Reagan was nominated by the GOP and the Brooks-style elitists of that era proclaimed that the Party had been taken over by a band of right wing radicals.
They characterized Reagan as a loon. In fact, he was even called a fascist.
They were wrong then and they are wrong now.
Remember this: It's the so-called "extremes" that define the middle and energize the ideas and the scope of most political movements.
Interestingly, Brooks bases his whole cockamamie argument on the tax and spend issue. And he's wrong there, too.
For now, The GOP must hold the line on spending and taxes because that's what it was elected to do. Obviously, the timing of any possible "compromise" is critical. As for 2012, I'm confident that the Party will nominate a mature, responsible candidate with practical, common-sense solutions -- someone that a majority of Americans can and will embrace.
Old media would have us think otherwise but, in truth, the Republican Party is on sound footing and surprisingly in tune with the vast expanse of our country that people on the coasts (such as Brooks) ignore at their own peril.
BTW: The Republican Party was born in the crucible of the battle over slavery. At that time, some argued that the new party was nothing more than a radical fringe built around what many considered to be the radical cause of abolitionism. But the Party remained true to its principles and, led by a somewhat eccentric dude named Lincoln (you may have heard of him) we fought for -- and saved -- the union. The Republican Party has always been the party of ideas and (far from being backward) has often been ahead of its time.
Avanti!

The National Debt: Is It REALLY This Bad?