MNeagle
20th May 2010, 04:00 PM
May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Lawmakers in New Jersey’s Democrat- controlled Assembly voted to raise income taxes on residents earning at least $1 million a year, as Republican Governor Chris Christie said he’d veto the bill.
The chamber passed the measure 46-32 in a vote that broke down along party lines. Of 33 Republicans, 32 voted no. The Senate took up the bill after the vote and may set up the Legislature for a showdown with Christie, 47, as the deadline approaches to have a balanced budget in place when the fiscal year ends on June 30.
“We’ve got a lot of people who can’t afford to pay their taxes†and need the rebates that the measure may restore, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver said before the vote. “Six- hundred thousand older adults would be better off.â€
Democrats hold a 47-33 majority in the Assembly and a 23-17 edge in the Senate. While controlling both chambers, they lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a Christie veto without cooperation from Republican lawmakers.
The temporary tax increase is projected to reap $637 million in revenue that Democrats may use to eliminate cuts to senior programs proposed by Christie, including restoration of property-tax rebates for about 600,000 residents. The governor’s $29.3 billion budget contains $10 billion in spending cuts, including $820 million from school aid, and puts off a $3 billion pension payment.
‘Defining Moment’
“This is a defining moment -- it seems to me to be all about taxes, taxes and taxes,†Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, a Republican from Parsippany, said during more than an hour of floor debate before the vote. Referring to Democrats, he said, “that’s all you guys do.â€
About 16,000 New Jersey tax filers have incomes of more than $1 million, legislators said during the Assembly debate. That’s less than 1 percent of the state’s 3.9 million total.
“I don’t have an issue with millionaires, I just have an issue with people not sharing in the sacrifice,†said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat from West Deptford. “Those 16,000 people can help 600,000.â€
Christie yesterday said he planned to restore the $55.5 million in cuts he proposed to the Pharmaceuticals for the Aged and Disabled program without raising taxes.
Democrats also sent Christie a separate measure that pares a pending $1 billion increase in the state business tax that supports unemployment benefits. The bill limits the increase, set to take effect July 1, to $300 million.
The measure passed by both chambers also omits cuts in jobless benefits sought by Christie and Republican lawmakers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aU0WFRUuE490&pos=9
The chamber passed the measure 46-32 in a vote that broke down along party lines. Of 33 Republicans, 32 voted no. The Senate took up the bill after the vote and may set up the Legislature for a showdown with Christie, 47, as the deadline approaches to have a balanced budget in place when the fiscal year ends on June 30.
“We’ve got a lot of people who can’t afford to pay their taxes†and need the rebates that the measure may restore, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver said before the vote. “Six- hundred thousand older adults would be better off.â€
Democrats hold a 47-33 majority in the Assembly and a 23-17 edge in the Senate. While controlling both chambers, they lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a Christie veto without cooperation from Republican lawmakers.
The temporary tax increase is projected to reap $637 million in revenue that Democrats may use to eliminate cuts to senior programs proposed by Christie, including restoration of property-tax rebates for about 600,000 residents. The governor’s $29.3 billion budget contains $10 billion in spending cuts, including $820 million from school aid, and puts off a $3 billion pension payment.
‘Defining Moment’
“This is a defining moment -- it seems to me to be all about taxes, taxes and taxes,†Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, a Republican from Parsippany, said during more than an hour of floor debate before the vote. Referring to Democrats, he said, “that’s all you guys do.â€
About 16,000 New Jersey tax filers have incomes of more than $1 million, legislators said during the Assembly debate. That’s less than 1 percent of the state’s 3.9 million total.
“I don’t have an issue with millionaires, I just have an issue with people not sharing in the sacrifice,†said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat from West Deptford. “Those 16,000 people can help 600,000.â€
Christie yesterday said he planned to restore the $55.5 million in cuts he proposed to the Pharmaceuticals for the Aged and Disabled program without raising taxes.
Democrats also sent Christie a separate measure that pares a pending $1 billion increase in the state business tax that supports unemployment benefits. The bill limits the increase, set to take effect July 1, to $300 million.
The measure passed by both chambers also omits cuts in jobless benefits sought by Christie and Republican lawmakers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aU0WFRUuE490&pos=9