New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wants to raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents to make up a $5.7 billion budget deficit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Murphy proposed raising the rate of the top income-tax bracket to 10.75 percent from just under 9 percent, which his administration said would raise around $390 million. The governor’s new spending plan would begin Oct. 1.
Addressing lawmakers at Rutgers University, Murphy had a message for those who would pay the tax: “We are asking you to sacrifice pennies on your top dollar to ensure that every New Jerseyan has the same opportunity to succeed that you did.”
He also proposed raising taxes on cigarettes, guns, and ammunition, and borrowing $4 billion. His budget proposal maintains funding for public education.
New York’s highest state income tax rate is 8.82 percent under a “temporary” tax that has been extended several times since the 2008 fiscal crisis, most recently last year through 2024. Combined with New York City’s income tax, the rate is 12.7 percent, trailing only California’s 13.3 percent rate on income of $1 million or more. [WSJ] — Dennis Lynch