A single high school renovation project in Trenton New Jersey will cost $241 million, and that's only if the construction starts right away and there aren't any further delays. That's a whole lot of money for a single school. The state's school construction fund is deep in the hole, being investigated for fraud and waste, and hundreds of school projects are being held up because of the lack of money. Could it be that spending hundreds of millions on a single school might be part of the problem?
And property taxes are out of control as well, rising 40% over the past five years. They now average at least $6,000 annually. Part of that is tied to rising home prices, but with the state in a serious budget crunch, those tax rebates that some lower income homeowners are counting on don't even cover the rise in taxes.
Enlighten NJ notes that New Jersey's tax burden is one of the highest in the nation, and the fiscal woes are only going to inflict an even higher burden on taxpayers. Why would anyone want to stay in the state under these conditions.
DynamoBuzz notes that the state is considering a bill that would whack the likes of WalMart by imposing new health insurance requirements on the company. Nothing like trying to entice large companies to come to New Jersey (that's sarcasm folks).
Top that off with a variety of proposals to increase or expand taxes onto new areas, and New Jersey may see an acceleration of fiscal problems as businesses and taxpayers flee the state. Of course, that might make the housing market a wee bit more affordable for those who work outside the state, but that might be wishful thinking.
While Legislative Republicans are introducing bills that would be more business friendly - like eliminating the alternative minimum assessment, Democrats are busy trying to find new taxes to implement, expand or expand via updating, or increase (or increase with conditions that money be specifically directed for transportation).
With Corzine meeting with various lobby groups - the chief concern is the combination of higher taxes and less state support for municipalities that will in turn be forced to increase property taxes further to compensate.
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