FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
CONTACT:
Bill Pascoe
OCTOBER 13, 2009
(609) 350-8769
DONOHUE &
McCANN: “NO” TO CORZINE GAS TAX HIKE
(OCEAN CITY, October 13) –
First Legislative District GOP Assembly nominees
Mike Donohue and John McCann – responding to Jon
Corzine’s admission before the editorial board
of The Record of Hackensack that he will
consider raising the gas tax – today declared
that they would not support a gas tax increase.
“Not too long ago, Jon
Corzine was saying an increase in the gas tax
would be a ‘last resort,’” said Donohue. “It
didn’t take him long to change his mind and book
a ticket to that resort.”
“New Jersey residents are
already being crushed by the heaviest tax burden
in the nation,” added McCann. “Just as the price
of gas is finally coming down, the Democrats
talk about pushing the cost higher.”
“First he wanted to raise
tolls 800 percent,” recalled Donohue. “Now
Corzine wants to raise the price of gas. Doesn’t
he realize how badly people are hurting? Aren’t
the Democrats aware that this could be the
breaking point for many families who are
struggling every day to make ends meet?
“And especially for those
of us who live in South Jersey, where tourism is
our lifeblood – well, a gas tax increase is just
a killer,” said McCann.
“We already know Corzine
has Assemblyman John Wisniewski on his side,”
McCann continued. “Wisniewski is a Democrat who
is the chairman of the Assembly Transportation
Committee and has never stopped pushing for an
increase in the gas tax, even when the price at
the pump was $4 a gallon.”
Wisniewski wants to more
than double the state gas tax. His plan would
raise it by 18 cents a gallon over three years,
and then allow the tax to rise automatically to
keep pace with inflation every year thereafter.
Donohue and McCann, by
contrast, said no increase in the gas tax should
be imposed without the prior approval of the
voters.
They noted Republicans have
proposed a “no tax/no toll” solution to the
transportation funding problem – a proposed
constitutional dedication of $500 million in
existing annual motor vehicle fees to the
Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) that would
provide $1.9 billion in aid annually for state
transportation projects in each of the ensuing
five years. The plan includes a strong
pay-as-you-go component. The loss of fee revenue
from the budget would be offset by $500 million
in permanent savings achieved by budget cuts and
reforms.
Paid for by Donohue McCann 2009 |