Gottheimer: Plan will relieve 'tax hike'

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) unveiled a plan he says will offer a tax cut for New Jersey residents.
He was joined by Gov.-Elect Phil Murphy and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell.
Gottheimer said the Tax Hike Bill took a two-by-four to the State of New Jersey, gutting the State and Local Deduction (SALT), sharply limiting New Jersey’s property tax deductions, and imposing a massive Tax Hike on Jersey families and businesses. The Tax Hike Bill was largely paid for on the backs of New Jersey taxpayers and, according to experts, will bring property values down by as much as 20 percent and send businesses and jobs to other states.
“In Jersey, we don't just take a punch and snake away to the corner. No, we stand up and fight,” Gottheimer said. “Today, Jersey is fighting back against the Moocher States with a Tax Cut Plan that actually helps people who live in New Jersey. I ran for Congress to cut taxes for our residents and businesses.”
Gottheimer had previous called the tax reform plan recently passed by Congress and President Donald Trump as an "assault on New Jesey"
It’s a huge windfall for what I call ‘Moocher States,’ those like Mississippi and Alabama, that pay far less in federal taxes than we do, and somehow consistently get far more back,” Gottheimer said.
The plan unveiled by Gottheimer is said to restore the value of the SALT Deduction by providing a tax deduction for taxpayers who make charitable contributions to their state or other local governments. States and local governments can establish or support funds that pay for local services, including schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure. Taxpayers can make voluntary contributions to these funds, for which they will receive an offsetting tax credit. The contributions will be deductible for federal tax purposes under existing law, even for those who pay the alternative minimum tax. Gottheimer said this structure effectively restores the benefit of the lost state and local tax deduction to the extent of the contributions for most taxpayers who itemize.
The plan, according to Gottheimer, was recognized by eight of the nation's top tax law scholars as "correct and longstanding".
Steve Lonegan, who plans to run for Gottheimer's seat this year doesn't see the plan as a solution.
The Murphy-Gottheimer plan does nothing to address the high cost of local government in New Jersey — made higher by regulations and mandates imposed under the last two Democrat governors," Lonegan said in a statement. "Their answer is the same as it always is: Give more money to government in the hope that you will get something back for it. As with the state income tax, which was sold as property tax relief but then snatched away to be used for social engineering, it is a hope that is ever forlorn.