GOP To Middle Class: 'Merry Christmas, We Are Raising Your Taxes'

TRENTON – Senate President Steve Sweeney today issued the following statement calling on state and national Republicans to oppose the Tea Party extremists – who are holding up a resolution in Washington, D.C. to avert the Fiscal Cliff – and refuse to raise taxes on New Jersey’s middle class.

“Last week, President Obama called on the Republican Party to accept a plan that would protect the middle class. This is a steadfast belief that I share with the President. We must protect middle-class and working-class New Jerseyans. That is why I have consistently asked the wealthiest residents to pay a little more.

“We would hope that Governor Christie would join us in standing up for our hardworking residents but his actions on this issue have demonstrated that he is in lockstep with Tea Party Republicans. He twice vetoed legislation that would have raised taxes on millionaires and protected middle-class taxpayers in New Jersey.

“The fact is, the governor and his Tea Party allies have continuously refused to budge when it comes to protecting the super rich. Now here we are seven days from falling over the fiscal cliff, which would mean higher taxes for the majority of Americans. Tea Party Republicans in Congress continue to dig in their heels and the silence on this issue from the state’s top Republican is deafening. On Christmas Eve, their message to the middle class is, “Merry Christmas, we’re raising your taxes.”