ASSEMBLY BUDGET CHAIRMAN GREENWALD ADMITS DEMOCRATS ARE TAXING PEOPLE OUT OF NEW JERSEY

    Assembly members Gary Chiusano and Alison Littell McHose thanked Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald for some rare candor during today’s budget debate.

    When Chiusano asked why so many New Jersey teachers retire to states such as North Carolina, Greenwald said it’s because they listen to their financial advisers who note that other states do not tax retirement income like New Jersey does.

    “That acknowledgment was the only honest statement coming from the Assembly Democrats during the several hours we debated the budget,” said Chiusano, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, a member of the Economic Development Committee. “Unfortunately, the statement is a perfect snapshot of why our state is in such a dire situation. We impose taxes that drive people away, displacing them from their homes and letting other states benefit from the dollars they bring.”

    Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, also R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, and a member of the Budget Committee, questioned why Democrats, who have been so preoccupied with other states, hadn’t considered New Jersey’s own tax policies that drive residents elsewhere.

    “Governor Corzine and his Democratic colleagues in the Assembly continue to look to other states to justify increasing our state’s taxing, spending and borrowing, but they refuse to acknowledge the problems they have caused in New Jersey,” McHose said. “Maybe one day we may compare favorably to other states – but only if we start repealing the taxes, such as those on retirement incomes, that are driving people away.”