newjerseynewsroom.com

Calls for increasing income tax credits for working poor

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

State aid for New Jersey public schools will rise by $213 million to a record $8.8 billion under the $32.1 billion 2012-13 state budget proposed Tuesday by Gov. Chris Christie.

The governor introduced his “New Jersey Comeback” budget before a joint session of the Legislature, and his cabinet and state Supreme Court justices in a crowded Statehouse Assembly chamber in Trenton.

The proposed $32.1 billion package, a $2.4 billion increase over the 2011-12 fiscal package,  begins July 1, and represents an 8 percent increase in spending when compared to the current budget. The proposal relies using $288 million in state surplus funds, a move that would reduce the current surplus to $300 million.

Christie noted that one of every three dollars in the budget is earmarked for education.

He also called for a $100 billion increase in aid to colleges and universities, including a $390 million increase in state tuition aid to college students.

The governor again called on the Democratic-controlled Legislature to send him an across-the-board 10 percent state income tax at a cost of $150 million in the proposed budget. To tempt the Democrats to act on the proposal, Christie also called for a 20 percent to 25 percent increase over two years in the earned income tax credit for New Jersey’s working poor, a proposal he cut from the current budget in July. He said the average low-income worker would receive an annual benefit of $550.

The proposed budget also contains $1.1 billion for the state-run public employee pension fund, an increase of $587 million over last year’s contribution. Christie could have call for a $500 million contribution. The governor said the amount represents 3.42 percent of the entire budget and in terms of absolute dollars, it is the single largest state contribution ever.

"The pension reform we enacted has made employee pensions safer and more reliable," Christie said. "It has put us on a sound long-term track. My proposal of $1.1 billion for pensioners in this state reinforces my commitment to the security and financial future of all public workers.

The governor added, "Why not cut income taxes when we are increasing funding for higher education by over $100 million," the governor said. "Why not cut income taxes when we are providing more than $390 million in funding for student aid – the highest funding level in state history. Why not cut income taxes when we "are making the largest pension contribution in history at $1.1 billion. Why not cut income taxes when we are providing for our most vulnerable."

Christie also proposed the creation of a state Division of Aging Services that would be part of the Department of Human Services and would be the single point of access for all of services to seniors. The governor said the division would enable the state to coordinate all senior services – nursing home care, community care, pharmaceutical assistance for the aged and disabled, senior gold, utility lifeline.