INCOME TAX + BUSINESS TAX + PROPERTY TAX = 8.2% UNEMPLOYMENT

As New Jersey’s unemployment level soared to its highest rate in 16 years, Assembly Republicans said the formula for the state’s turmoil was put together by taxing individuals and business to the point where other states are more appealing places to live and work because they are more affordable than New Jersey.

“When assessing what factors contribute to the staggering increase in those who are unemployed, people need to consider the cumulative effect of taxes on incomes, operating a business, and owning a home in New Jersey,” stated Assemblyman Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic. “There are numerous studies and polls that place the state at the bottom of many key economic rankings and are the reason New Jersey is so vulnerable during this recession.

“The Corzine administration’s tax policies have fostered the negative perception about the state and now we are paying the price,” he continued. “In order to quench his thirst to continue spending, Corzine has picked the pockets of homeowners and business to the point where they’ve had enough. Apparently, the $3,000 employer rebate the state is offering for hiring and retaining new employees isn’t as much of an incentive as the governor thought it would be.”

According to figures released earlier this week by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, New Jersey’s unemployment rate skyrocketed to 8.2 percent in February, up from 7.3 percent in January. It now surpasses the national unemployment rate which stands at 8.1 percent. It is the 13th straight month the state’s unemployment rate has increased.

Several economists predict that the state’s unemployment rate could exceed 10 percent within the next several months. New Jersey has lost 70,000 jobs in the last four months alone, and nearly 125,000 since January 2008. An economist with the Federal Reserve Bank called the data “staggering.”

“There is a preponderance of evidence that suggests the state has been traveling down this economic dead end for several years,” remarked Assemblyman John Amodeo, R-Atlantic. “Both small business and large corporations are suffocating from the tax burdens that this administration is placing on them. Homeowners are paying the highest property taxes in the country. Instead of figuring out how to encourage job growth by recruiting companies to locate in the state, the governor has given a road map of how to leave it for more friendly surroundings.”

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande said that the governor’s recently proposed $29.8 billion new spending plan will deliver yet another punishing blow to New Jersey’s business community.

“Instead of raising taxes which only adds additional burdens to our businesses, Governor Corzine should be cutting taxes and the throngs of regulations and red tape that is forcing them out of state,” she said. “The governor needs to stop creating new onerous regulations on businesses. He needs to streamline the state’s economic growth programs, and follow the example of states that have been successful in attracting new business growth.”