Friday, March 23, 2012

Pennacchio: Sales Tax Gimmick Costs Jobs

New Jersey State Senator Joe Pennacchio, R-Essex/Morris/Passaic, says he was sickened to learn of the struggles of New Jersey’s limousine businesses, as discussed during a recent state Sales and Use Tax Review Commission meeting.

Since a widespread sales-tax-hike gimmick was implemented and authorized by Democrats to balance the state’s FY 2007 budget, one-third of New Jersey’s limousine businesses have closed and 7,000 related jobs have been lost, according to testimony quoted by PolitickerNJ.

“This is just one troubling example of how increasing taxes can crumble our state’s economy,” Pennacchio said. “During the majority party’s reign of total control last decade, they enacted several hikes that made it more expensive to run businesses than neighboring states, took income from employers, killed jobs and burdened consumers.”

One limo company owner told the commission today, according to PolitickerNJ, that it was hurt by Pennsylvania limo services that don’t charge sales tax and former limo companies that operate to un-taxed taxis.

To balance the state’s FY 2007 budget, Democrats also increased sales taxes to 7 percent on other services and items, including membership fees, shipping and handling, dry cleaning, tanning and magazines (Source: P.L. 2006, c. 44).
“The positive signs of job growth we’re seeing under a Republican governor should be motivation for us to continue on a course to lower taxes — including cutting income taxes by 10 percent — to make New Jersey more desirable to job creators,” Pennacchio concluded.

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