Governor Jim McGreevey signed the state’s $28 billion budget into law on Wednesday, but on Thursday, a Superior Court judge in Trenton heard arguments made by lawyers for Republican state representatives that $1.9 billion in borrowed money included in the budget violates the state’s constitutional balanced budget requirement.
The budget includes the introduction of the controversial Fair and Immediate Relief (FAIR) property tax rebate, which provides tax relief for homeowners who earn less than $200,000 and is funded by a 2.6 percent tax on households earning over $500,000 a year, informally referred to as the Millionaire’s Tax.
The Budget is $1.7 billion higher than last year and is funded by a number of new taxes, including a 35-cent per-pack cigarette tax increase; a safe drivers tax, where drivers can plead guilty and pay a fine for a lesser offense instead of getting points on their license; and a number of realty transfer fees.
How does this affect Hudson County?
Deputy Speaker Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Jersey City), and Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny (D-Hoboken), both say that the FAIR legislation will provide more than 60,000 Hudson County tax filers with relief. “It’s going to be hugely beneficial to the county,” said Kenny. “Households will receive enhanced rebate checks and tenants will receive a check as well. All tenants will receive a boost over what they got in the past.”
Both homeowners and tenants receive the rebate through the existing Homestead Rebate program.
According to Quigley, there are 238,653 household and individual tax filers in Hudson County. Out of those, 551 may be taxed under the so-called millionaire tax, about two tenths of a percent of the population. Relief will come to 52,080 homeowners who will get an additional $500 to $1,200 back plus 20,000 tenants who will receive $50 over what they get now.
Households with an income of over $200,000 do not receive the rebate.
Joe Donnelly, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Albio Sires (D-West New York) said that 98 percent of homeowners receiving checks will receive increases.
The new budget also brings in about $16 million in charity care for Hudson County Hospitals.
Charity care helps cover the cost of treating people who walk into an emergency room without insurance. According to Kenny, a large number of Hudson County residents are uninsured.
“We have a lot of people who don’t have insurance,” said Kenny. “It’s more prominent in urban areas. You can’t turn people away.”
Last year, hospitals in Hudson County were reimbursed at a rate of 12 to 70 cents on the dollar for charity care cases. This year they will receive from 80 to 96 percent reimbursement.
“Every hospital gets money for charity care, depending on the amount of charity care provided over the last year,” said Quigley. “It’s a major improvement We all pushed it through. I was fortunate that I was on the Assembly Budget Committee.”
Another $1.5 million will go to the Jersey City Armory, owned by the State of New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the National Guard. The money will go to lay down a world class indoor track, a new basketball surface, new lighting, and other amenities.
According to Kenny, the new taxes are reasonable.
“They’re fair because they’re for services that people use,” said Kenny. “Many of these taxes haven’t been raised in many years. We’re only affecting 30,000 income tax payers in the state, only 500 in Hudson County. Less than one percent of income earners.”
Quigley said that while she hated the cigarette tax, it does produce revenue, and she hopes it discourages people from smoking.
“That’s a source of revenue we hope to lose,” Quigley said.
In order to eliminate the variability of such a tax, which is affected by people’s smoking habits, the state has securitized the revenue from the sale of cigarettes, or agreed to sell bonds insuring the income, thus shifting the risk to investors.
“We estimated what the revenue would be over 40 years,” said Quigley. “And then we sold bonds to the public. If those revenues come in as anticipated, those bondholders will make money. If those revenues decline, they will not make money, so they take the risk, and the state doesn’t.”
It is this borrowing that Republican legislators have challenged.
The budget passed 21-19 in the Senate and 44-34 in the Assembly.
CHARITY CARE – Like all Hudson County hospitals, Meadowlands Hospital will receive a boost in the amount of money the state will provide for uninsured emergency room visits.The budget includes the introduction of the controversial Fair and Immediate Relief (FAIR) property tax rebate, which provides tax relief for homeowners who earn less than $200,000 and is funded by a 2.6 percent tax on households earning over $500,000 a year, informally referred to as the Millionaire’s Tax.
The Budget is $1.7 billion higher than last year and is funded by a number of new taxes, including a 35-cent per-pack cigarette tax increase; a safe drivers tax, where drivers can plead guilty and pay a fine for a lesser offense instead of getting points on their license; and a number of realty transfer fees.
How does this affect Hudson County?
Deputy Speaker Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Jersey City), and Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny (D-Hoboken), both say that the FAIR legislation will provide more than 60,000 Hudson County tax filers with relief. “It’s going to be hugely beneficial to the county,” said Kenny. “Households will receive enhanced rebate checks and tenants will receive a check as well. All tenants will receive a boost over what they got in the past.”
Both homeowners and tenants receive the rebate through the existing Homestead Rebate program.
According to Quigley, there are 238,653 household and individual tax filers in Hudson County. Out of those, 551 may be taxed under the so-called millionaire tax, about two tenths of a percent of the population. Relief will come to 52,080 homeowners who will get an additional $500 to $1,200 back plus 20,000 tenants who will receive $50 over what they get now.
Households with an income of over $200,000 do not receive the rebate.
Joe Donnelly, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Albio Sires (D-West New York) said that 98 percent of homeowners receiving checks will receive increases.
The new budget also brings in about $16 million in charity care for Hudson County Hospitals.
Charity care helps cover the cost of treating people who walk into an emergency room without insurance. According to Kenny, a large number of Hudson County residents are uninsured.
“We have a lot of people who don’t have insurance,” said Kenny. “It’s more prominent in urban areas. You can’t turn people away.”
Last year, hospitals in Hudson County were reimbursed at a rate of 12 to 70 cents on the dollar for charity care cases. This year they will receive from 80 to 96 percent reimbursement.
“Every hospital gets money for charity care, depending on the amount of charity care provided over the last year,” said Quigley. “It’s a major improvement We all pushed it through. I was fortunate that I was on the Assembly Budget Committee.”
Another $1.5 million will go to the Jersey City Armory, owned by the State of New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the National Guard. The money will go to lay down a world class indoor track, a new basketball surface, new lighting, and other amenities.
According to Kenny, the new taxes are reasonable.
“They’re fair because they’re for services that people use,” said Kenny. “Many of these taxes haven’t been raised in many years. We’re only affecting 30,000 income tax payers in the state, only 500 in Hudson County. Less than one percent of income earners.”
Quigley said that while she hated the cigarette tax, it does produce revenue, and she hopes it discourages people from smoking.
“That’s a source of revenue we hope to lose,” Quigley said.
In order to eliminate the variability of such a tax, which is affected by people’s smoking habits, the state has securitized the revenue from the sale of cigarettes, or agreed to sell bonds insuring the income, thus shifting the risk to investors.
“We estimated what the revenue would be over 40 years,” said Quigley. “And then we sold bonds to the public. If those revenues come in as anticipated, those bondholders will make money. If those revenues decline, they will not make money, so they take the risk, and the state doesn’t.”
It is this borrowing that Republican legislators have challenged.
The budget passed 21-19 in the Senate and 44-34 in the Assembly.