I will protect your pensions. Nothing about your pension is going to change when I am governor. - Chris Christie, "An Open Letter to the Teachers of NJ" October, 2009

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Zombie Lies Don't Die at the Record!

Charlie Stile raises the dead:
It hardly should come as a shock that holding the line on property taxes is, by far and away, the No. 1 issue among recession-battered voters who live in a county with the highest property taxes and in a state with the highest taxes in the nation
Most taxed state! Most taxed state! Most...

Sigh... OK, once again:
NJ ranks 31st in total state and local taxes collected from our own revenues as a percentage of personal income.
Although The Tax Foundation says we are the #1 taxed state (the usual source for Chrsitie's claim), their ranking is based on projections and taxation from other governments; they have also have a history of making large revisions to their reports in the past.
Here's another source, based on Census Department data. Even when you count taxes collected from NY and PA (which, in any rational discussion, you shouldn't), we're still not #1.
Sorry, Charlie!

No comments: