New Jersey Taxes Kiling Businesses and Families
by Gordon Bishop (5/5/08)
New Jersey’s job growth is so low because the State’s employers - and employees - find they can no longer work of live in a ‘Garden’ State that boasts the highest property taxes and auto insurance premiums in the nation.
If that’s not punishment enough for a State that’s losing over 57,000 residents a year – which is equivalent to losing some $900 million in tax revenues – taxpaying workers have now been hit with a “surcharge” on all taxes, thanks to liberal Governor Jon Corzine.
Now, Corzine and his majority Democrats who control the State Legislature want to pass a law allowing workers 10 days off a year to be their families. That’ll certainly wipe out marginal businesses, or a great exodus of businesses who can’t afford to lose their employees 10 days a year, even though they’re given “vacation days.” And the longer you work at a company the more days you have off. I received 6 weeks of vacation at The Star-Ledger after 10 years of working there.
No wonder businesses are fleeing a State that is fiscally out of control, not to mention the taxpayers who can no longer afford their tax-and-spend liberal governments: Federal, State, Regional and Local.
As Tony Soprano would say, “I’m outta here!”
New Jersey’s private-sector job growth ranked 41st nationwide each of the past two years is a sign that its high costs drove employments away, Rutgers University economics said in a report just released.
And the Garden State faces bleak prospects: New Jersey has a high concentration of jobs in the financial services sector, which is getting hit hard in the economic downturn.
“I’ve seen a lot of cyclical times with real estate, but I’ve never seen it this bad,” said Arnie Lubliner, general manager of Win-Star Mortgage Company in Manasquan, NJ.
Business in 2007 was off 63 percent from the previous year.
New Jersey’s private sector grew by 0.8 percent in 2006 and 0.1 in 2007 because of runaway taxes under the State’s latest Governor and Administration.
That puts New Jersey in the company of states that have been considered economic trouble spots: California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona have also felt the most pain from the housing bubble’s collapse.
Employers are wary of setting up shop or expanding in New Jersey because the State is expensive and it has annual budget deficit that could lead to higher taxes.
“New Jersey has become a place where it is very, very expensive to operate – even within the region,” said Philip Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the State’s biggest lobby.
A quick recovery isn’t likely, New Jersey economists predict. New Jersey and the rest of nation are caught in a downturn stemming from a slow housing market. That has forced lenders to tighten their credit standards.New Jersey is likely to suffer more than others. Financial activities – banking, brokerages, real estate and finance – account for 6.9 percent of the State’s unemployment, compared with 6.1 percent of U.S. employment.
Thousands more residents commute to financial services jobs in New York City, especially the Wall Street firms and employees who run the nation’s Stock Market.
Citigroup, America’s largest bank, already announced plans to reduce its work force by another 9,000, after cutting 4,200 jobs in January.
And Merrill Lynch & Co. said it plans to cut 3,000 jobs in addition to the 1,000 jobs previously announced, according to a summary by the Associated Press (AP wire news service).
Jersey Shore business areas, where I live, are watching with trepidation, knowing that layoffs on Wall Street reverberate at the popular Jersey Shore where many Wall Street workers live and raise their families.
Mortgage brokers have inquired about jobs, but brokers can’t afford to pay them. Instead, they work on commission. And people are afraid to work on commission because the business has slowed down so much.
We’re going to have to wait a long time to once again sing, “Happy days are here again!”
Gordon Bishop
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