One hundred thousand South Jersey residents working in Philadelphia and 125,000 Pennsylvania residents working in New Jersey will pay higher state wage taxes in 2017. The tax hike is a result of Governor Christie’s election to cancel the PA/NJ state tax reciprocity arrangement. The change was announced yesterday.
The cost to the average South Jersey resident taxpayer working in Philadelphia (most earning less than $100,000) will be about $1,000. The average cost to Pennsylvania residents working in New Jersey (most earning more than $100,000) will be higher.
Quotes from NJ.com news coverage:
“A legislative analysis found that it will cost 100,000 Garden State residents who earn less than $110,000 a year working in Pennsylvania about $1,000 more a year in income taxes, according to the Senate Majority Office.”
“”New Jersey’s losses from not being able to tax wealthy Bucks County residents who commute to high-paying jobs in New Jersey far outweighs the taxes New Jersey collects on low- and moderate-income Camden and Gloucester County residents who work in Pennsylvania, typically Philadelphia,” he wrote.”
NJ taxes must rise because of the state’s inability to adequately spur business development, especially in south Jersey, or cut its costs. New Jersey has been unable to change many of the negative trends facing the southern NJ business community. This change makes a bad situation worse. It does, however, fall in line Governor Christie’s pledge to balance the state budget no matter what the politcal costs.
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