FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mike Donohue
July 27, 2007 (609) 780-6525
DONOHUE AND McCANN HAIL SUSPENSION OF DEVELOPER SURCHARGE, CALL FOR FURTHER TAX CUTS
(OCEAN CITY, July 27) – First Legislative District Republican Assembly nominees Mike Donohue and John McCann today hailed Gov. Corzine’s expected signature on the Economic Stimulus Act of 2009, pointing to the bill’s reversal of last year’s imposition of a 2.5 percent surcharge on development as a much-needed stimulus,=3 D2 0and called for more tax cuts to fuel job growth.
“Today, New Jersey’s developers – and the realtors and homeowners and contractors and subcontractors whose economic futures are tied in to theirs – will get a shot in the arm, when Trenton Democrats suspend the 2.5 percent surcharge they imposed on development a year ago,” said McCann, whose family-owned realty firm has been a small business success story in Cape May County since 1970. “I guess this falls into the ‘better late than never’ category – they never should have imposed this tax surcharge in the first place.
“But lifting a tax they shouldn’t have imposed to begin with is only half the battle,” McCann continued. “If Trenton wants to get serious about creating jobs, those in power should cut taxes further – or get out of the way for those who will.”
“I’ll clap with one hand,” said running mate Mike Donohue. “For seven and a half years, Trenton Democrats under Jim McGreevey and Jon Corzine raised taxes, one after the other. It appears they finally figured out that if you want to create jobs and grow the economy, you need to follow the Republican prescription – cut taxes and cut regulation.
“But John’s absolutely right about this – suspending a surcharge they imposed a year ago is like repairing a window you broke in your own house. You haven’t=2 0incr eased the value of the home, you’ve just restored it to its former state,” Donohue said. “If you want to increase the value of the home – if you want to grow the economy – you need to take more significant action.
“The other thing that’s notable about this is that in voting last year to impose the surcharge, and then in voting this year to suspend it, Nelson Albano and Matt Milam voted just the way Jon Corzine wanted them to, twice,” Donohue continued. “But that’s not surprising. Albano and Milam have voted with Corzine 95 percent of the time.”
The surcharge was imposed as part of A500, last year’s COAH legislation. Albano and Milam both voted “YES” on June 16, 2008.
The surcharge was suspended as part of A4048, this year’s “New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009.” Albano and Milam both voted “YES” on June 25, 2009.
Paid for by Donohue McCann 2009