09/22/2008
New Jersey highway plan will double tolls by 2023
The cost of driving on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway will more than double by 2023 if a proposal introduced by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority last week gets approved. These increases will be used to pay for highway road widening projects and a commuter rail tunnel to New York.
While the debate earlier this year on the Governor's Asset Monetization Plan included an 800 percent toll hike over a period of time, this proposed plan by the Turnpike Authority is still significant as it calls for raising tolls 50 percent next year and in 2012 and 5 percent in 2017 and 2023. The increases would bring the 35-cent toll on the parkway to 85 cents by 2023 and a current $1.20 trip on the Turnpike would cost $3 after the final increase.
The Turnpike Authority will hold three public hearings for public comment and Governor Corzine needs to provide final approval.
Additionally, a separate plan to increase tolls on the Atlantic City Expressway is expected to be announced in the coming days.
NFIB/New Jersey will continue to monitor this proposal and its effect on small business members.
Members are welcome to attend hearings held by the Turnpike Authority this week. The hearings will take place as follows:
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
New Jersey Turnpike Authority Headquarters
581 Main St.
Woodbridge, N.J.
Wednesday, Sept. 24,12-3 p.m.
Bergen Community College
400 Paramus Road
Paramus, N.J.
Study says state and local taxes are highest in New Jersey
New Jerseyans are the most heavily taxed residents in the nation, paying 11.8 percent of their per capita income for state and local taxes, according to a new study by the Tax Foundation, New Jerseyans pay an average of $6,610 per capita. While this is the third straight year New Jersey topped the tax chart, the state and local tax burden did drop a 10th of a percent from 11.9 percent in 2007.
The study shows that just as high taxes make running a business difficult in New Jersey (the same Tax Foundation ranked New Jersey's business-tax environment second worst in the nation last year), they also impact businesses organized as pass-through entities such as S corporations and LLCs. As well, they make it difficult for companies to attract skilled workers who may be disinclined to move to such a high-tax state.
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