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![handle is hein.taxfoundation/ffdbfxz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: TAX
FOUNDATION
June 12, 2012
No. 315
Lawmakers Weigh Tax Schemes in the Garden
State
By
Scott Drenkard and Elizabeth Malm
New Jersey doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to taxes. Not only did the Garden State rank
50th in the 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index,1 its citizens also have the highest total tax burden in the
country.2 Further, the state had the highest per capita property tax collection in 2009' and has been ranked
as one of the top five states with the worst individual tax burden since 1977. The desire for tax relief in the
state has grown in recent years, with Governor Chris Christie (R) pledging, I'm not going to increase taxes
on the state that the Tax Foundation has said is the highest burdened tax state in America.' As the June 30
deadline to pass the state budget looms, Democrats in the legislature have also weighed in on reform ideas.
Three plans have emerged in recent weeks:
Governor Christie's Across-the-Board Income Tax Cuts
Governor Christie has pushed for 10 percent across-the-board individual income tax cuts for all tax
brackets.5 Under this plan, the cuts would be phased in over four years, while the Earned Income Tax Credit
would be increased from its current rate of 20 percent of the federal earned income credit6 to a new rate of
25 percent. Table 1 shows income tax rates under this proposal.
1 Mark Robyn, 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index, TAX FOUNDATION BACKGROUND PAPER NO. 62 (Jan. 25, 2012),
http://taxfoundation.org/article/2012-state-business-tax-climate-index.
2 Gerald Prante and Mark Robyn. State-Local Tax Burdens Fall in 2009 as Tax Revenues Shrink Faster than Income, TAX
FOUNDATION SPECIAL REPORT No. 189 (Feb. 23 2011), http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-local-tax-burdens-fall-2009-tax-
revenues-shrink-faster-income.
' Tax Foundation, State and Local Property Tax Collections Per Capita by State, Fiscal Year 2009,
http2://taxfoundation.org/article/state-and-local-p2roperty-tax-colections-cap~ita-state-fiscal-year-2009.
4 Richard Morrison, Chris Christie Cites Tax Foundation on Meet the Press, TAX FOUNDATION TAX POLICY BLOG (Nov. 8
2010), http://taxfoundation.org/blog/chris-christie-cites-tax-foundation-meet-press.
5 Joseph Henchman, New Jersey Governor Urges Income Tax Reductions, Cites Tax Foundation's Burdens Report, TAX FOUNDATION
TAX POLICY BLOG (Jan. 19, 2012), http://taxfoundation.org/blog/new-ersey-governlor-urges-income-tax-reductions-cites-tax-
foundations-burdens-report.
6 State of New Jersey, Department of the Treasury, 20]] NJ Earned Income Tax Credit (20]]),
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