Not only does New Jersey have the highest property taxes on average, it also has the highest tax burden per taxpayer in the United States. And that doesn’t even include local governments.
For New Jersey taxpayers, the bad news is even worse than a report showing their state government is $160 billion in debt. The deficit is actually $10 billion higher than that — a whopping $170 billion — according to State Treasury records obtained by New Jersey Watchdog. In a national study released Monday, Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit advocate of governmental transparency, calculated that state governments have racked up $1.3 trillion in debt.
The report ranked New Jersey dead last among states with a burden of $52,300 per taxpayer, the highest in the country.
… The $170 billion hole does not include the debts of New Jersey’s local government units, which face a collective shortfall of $50 billion for pensions and health benefits. Nor does it encompass the bond debts and other liabilities of the state’s 21 counties, 565 municipalities and 610 school districts.
To add insult to injury, hundreds of state employees are currently “double dipping” their pensions, an act by which public employees pretend to retire, collect their pension, then get another job days later so they can collect a salary and retirement income at the same time. It’s theft and fraud, plain and simple.
The question is, what is Governor Christie going to do about it?
