John Reitmeyer

3 weeks ago | njspotlightnews.org | John Reitmeyer

New Jersey is spending millions of dollars on hospitals, affordable housing, schools and sewer and stormwater projects and paying for it using federal funding from a major pandemic relief initiative. Federal money is also going to childcare services and maternal health. The dozens of individual appropriations are detailed in Gov. Phil Murphy’s latest report to the Legislature’s Joint Budget Oversight Committee.

1 month ago | njspotlightnews.org | John Reitmeyer

Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to spend more than state government will take in during the next fiscal year means revenue from short-term fiscal maneuvers will cover nearly $2 billion of budgeted annual expenditures. According to new fiscal estimates NJ Spotlight News obtained through a public-records request, roughly 3% of Murphy’s overall $58 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 would be backed by nonrecurring revenue sources commonly referred to as one-shots.

1 month ago | njspotlightnews.org | John Reitmeyer

The average local property-tax bill in New Jersey rose last year to a record-high $10,095, according to the latest data released by the state. A year-over-year increase of nearly $300 pushed the average property-tax bill above $10,000 for the first time in New Jersey. That’s a key threshold for federal tax purposes after Republican President Donald Trump capped in 2017 what had been an unlimited federal income-tax deduction for state and local taxes, or SALT, at $10,000.

1 month ago | njspotlightnews.org | John Reitmeyer

For the second straight year, Gov. Phil Murphy is asking state lawmakers to approve more than a billion dollars in tax hikes as overall annual state spending creeps closer to $60 billion. Last year, high-earning corporations were hit hardest by state tax-policy changes, but consumers buying electric vehicles and parents shopping for back-to-school supplies were also among those who were dealt increases.

1 month ago | njspotlightnews.org | John Reitmeyer

El gobernador Phil Murphy está a punto de revelar su plan fiscal final para Nueva Jersey, mientras muchos residentes se enfrentan a una avalancha de costos en aumento, en los precios para todo, desde los huevos hasta la energía y la vivienda, que continúan en alza. Murphy, un demócrata en su segundo mandato, debe entregar a los legisladores su último mensaje del presupuesto de la gobernación en medio de la agitación significativa en Washington D.C. provocada por el presidente Donald Trump.