October 15, 2008
Contact: Andy Pratt / (609) 292-5199Senator Joe Kyrillos (R-13), Senator Steve Oroho (R-24), Senator Tom Kean (R-21)
Republican Leaders Challenge Governor to Back Reforms, Let Consumers Keep More of Their Money
Republican Senators Tom Kean and Stephen Oroho today challenged Governor Corzine to explain how he will put more money into the pockets of New Jersey citizens who need economic relief today, and Senator Joseph Kyrillos urged the governor to throw his full support behind economic development efforts that have languished in the Legislature for years:
“Governor Corzine’s economic policies have meant our state is consistently ranked dead last in its ability to work with entrepreneurs and innovators to create jobs and economic security,” Senate Republican Leader Kean said. “News reports indicate the governor’s proposals tomorrow will be clones of the same failed policies that have hurt our state economy over the last six years. We cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity, especially when the private sector employers who create our wealth are struggling to cope with the oppressive policies of a mismanaged state government.”
“The tax holiday would help consumers and entrepreneurs immediately,” said Senator Kyrillos, senior Republican on the Senate Economic Growth Committee. “But we also need the kind of long-term, comprehensive reform that I and other Republicans have been advocating for years. I urge the governor to get behind S-263 that would keep struggling startups afloat by letting them stretch deductions for losses over 20 years, S-2136 that would end the tax penalties for locating a headquarters in New Jersey, and S-2114 that lets more entrepreneurs take advantage of our economic development grant program. These bills and similar measures now have bipartisan support. We need to turn that support into good legislation this year.”
“Republicans have come up with a tax holiday that will put more money immediately into the pockets of New Jersey residents who are struggling to keep their jobs and homes,” said Senator Oroho, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. “It will save jobs by keeping stores and restaurants and dealerships in business that employ thousands of New Jersey residents. So far, the governor’s only response to this crisis has been to double tolls, raising the cost of living for every citizen of this state. The governor has said government needs these resources. New Jersey families are telling us they need them more. We think the families should come first.”
During debate over this year’s budget, Republicans proposed $1.3 billion in spending cuts that would have prevented toll increases and helped prepare the state for the coming economic crisis. They have opposed increased taxes on energy and home sales that depressed the economy, and they championed economic development reforms that Democrats only embraced after their policies killed private sector job growth in the state.
Republicans again urge the governor to listen to the people and announce the following common sense policy changes tomorrow to make New Jersey more affordable and restore economic security to our state:
* Back the Republican plan for a sales tax holiday.
* Pass economic reforms such as S-263, S-2136, S-2114 and S-281 that businesses say are vitally needed to ensure the long term economic security of the state.
* Veto toll hikes before they start taking money from the jobless and the homeless.
* Overrule the $160 million COAH tax and new COAH rules that are hampering job creation in the state.
* Cut the size of government to build a surplus for the future and allow the elimination of taxes such as the energy tax that consumers pay every time they turn a light or switch on their furnaces.
“Governor Corzine’s long-term economic proposals are unlikely to succeed if he doesn’t put money into the hands of citizens right now,” Oroho said. “That’s the best way to boost the confidence of the people in an economic crisis that is threatening our children’s prosperity as well as our own.”
“The sales tax holiday is a bold step that’s certain to save jobs and entire businesses,” Senator Kyrillos said. “The beneficial effects of keeping stores, restaurants and car dealerships alive won’t be temporary. Keeping workers employed today is vital to ensuring that the economy recovers quickly and begins to grow as soon as possible.”
“The biggest drag today on our economy is fear,” Kean said. “We can help consumers feel more confident by letting them keep more of their own money during this crisis. We challenge Governor Corzine to say tomorrow how he will provide immediate relief by scaling by the huge tax increases of the last few years, and how hard he plans to campaign to win passage of real economic reform measures in the next Legislature.”
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- What If the State’s Sales Tax Took a Holiday?
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October 15, 2008 - Beck, Casagrande and O’Scanlon Ask Corzine: So Now Tax Holidays Are a Good Idea? Governor Rejects Sales Tax Break, but Urges Payroll Tax Holiday
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