NJ Democrats Are Offering King-Size Tax Cuts to Corporations As Nearly 4 in 10 Continue to Struggle
If budgets are about priorities, it seems pretty clear that New Jersey’s are skewed. The state is considering two separate corporate tax cuts at a time when the state needs more money for its poorest and most vulnerable residents.
The two tax cuts — expiration of a tax surcharge on New Jersey-based corporate profits and massive slashing of state taxes on foreign corporate income — are likely to cost the state between $1.3 billion and about $2 billion over the next two years, according to critics, at a time when the state is facing a shortfall in revenue and difficulties assisting in the large number of those in need.
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New Jersey, as we all know is an expensive state in which to live. Most of us, however, can afford to live here. As NJ Spotlight has reported, “the median household income (in the state) rose by more than 17% over the five-year period from 2016 to 2021, reaching $89,296.” That means that more than half of all families in the state earn upwards of $90,000.
And while the poverty level remains comparatively low — with 10.2% of people were living under the federal poverty limit — another 27% were struggling to make ends meet. According to the United Way of North Jersey’s ALICE report, a total of 37% of New Jersey Households earn less than what it takes “to afford housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan, plus taxes.”
ALICE stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Restrained Employed and is meant to describe the large number of people across the country who struggle but fail to qualify for most federal or state assistance. It is a far more accurate measure of need than the federal poverty line, which takes into account only a small portion of what is needed to survive and does not account for variations based on geography.
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