New state budget includes various tax increases for New Jerseyans

<p>The $37 billion state budget recently signed by Gov. Phil Murphy provides more money for schools and agencies like New Jersey Transit.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 2, 2018, 4:21 PM

Updated 2,123 days ago

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The $37 billion state budget recently signed by Gov. Phil Murphy provides more money for schools and agencies like New Jersey Transit.
But the added funds will come at a cost to state residents in the form of several tax increases.
Some of the tax increases take aim at online services. Anyone using online rental sites like Airbnb and ridesharing apps like Uber or Lyft will see extra charges in taxes. Airbnb rentals are now subject to the 6.6 percent state sales tax. Uber and Lyft will now pay extra state surcharges.
But some New Jersey residents say that the extra fees won’t stop them from using these services.
“I use all of these services, so for me it’s going to be a little bit of a headache. But taxes or not I probably still would use it but it is a little bit of a pain for me,” says West Orange resident Nina Adebajo.
Lawmakers also added a tax on e-cigarettes. The managers at Monmouth Smoke Shop in Long Branch say that those taxes will add up.
Monmouth University Polling director Patrick Murray says that the higher taxes are part of what's pushing people to move away from New Jersey.
“This is quite literally the nickeling and diming of New Jersey taxpayers,” he says. “Same thing happened last year when the gas tax went up by a huge amount. There was a lot of grumbling for about 10 days and then we all got used to it.”
Gov. Murphy pushed for a millionaire’s tax to pay for some of the funding increases. Lawmakers agreed on a compromise.  There is a new income tax on those who make more than $5 million a year.


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