New Jersey Policy Perspective: Reforming New Jersey’s Income Tax Would Help Build Shared Prosperity
ITEP Work in Action…Today, the most well-off New Jerseyans hold a greater share of the state’s income than they have in nearly a century, thanks to decades of unequal economic growth, creating an off-balance economy in which many middle- and lower-income New Jerseyans face barriers to economic opportunity. In fact, New Jersey’s top 5 percent of households now have average incomes that are 15.6 times larger than the bottom 20 percent of households, ranking 7th in the country for income inequality.[1] Recent tax policy changes have exacerbated this trend, making it harder for New Jersey to foster the kind of investments that expand the middle class and narrow that gap.
By reforming New Jersey’s income tax code, we can help build the kind of state we want to see, where families across the income spectrum have a better chance to thrive.
Adding four brackets to the state’s income tax and increasing rates on the state’s wealthiest households would raise more than $1 billion in new revenue each year for education, aid to cities and towns and property tax relief for struggling households…