State Sen. Shirley Turner's bill hasn't been endorsed by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who decides the fate of legislation in the upper house
State Sen. Shirley Turner speaks at a press conference in Trenton in this 2008 file photo.TRENTON — As the state’s top Democrats mull whether to attempt bring back the so-called “millionaires tax” in this year’s budget, one Senate Democrat has already proposed it.
State Sen. Shirley Turner has proposed a bill that would permanently raise the tax rate on households earning more than $1 million annually.
For every dollar earned exceeding $1 million, Turner’s bill would raise the tax rate from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent. The revenue generated from the extra tax would be dedicated to property tax relief.
Turner first proposed the bill last week, but it was formally introduced Tuesday – the same day Gov. Chris Christie gave a budget address in which he urged the Democrat-controlled Legislature to enact sweeping changes to public workers’ health and benefits.
“We want him to have his actions match his words in terms of shared sacrifice. Everybody’s got to share,” said Turner (D-Mercer). “It’s not just the middle-class and lower income people who have to sacrifice.”
But Turner’s bill has not been endorsed by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who decides the fate of legislation in the upper house.
“Senate President Sweeney believes every option has to be on the table,” said Sweeney spokesman Chris Donnelly in a prepared statement. “When the Governor says everyone must sacrifice, he should mean everyone, not just New Jersey’s working families and seniors.”
Unlike last year’s proposal in which the tax would have only lasted one year, Turner’s bill calls for it to be permanent.
At least one member of the lower house, Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), said he would introduce a millionaires tax bill if its sponsors from last year do not push it themselves.
“I think that really shared sacrifice has got to be the way this budget is cobbled together,” he said.
Turner’s bill does not include a fiscal estimate. Democrats estimated last year’s millionaires tax proposal would have raised $637 million.
A one-year tax surcharge on households earning more than $400,000 expired at the end of 2009.
A spokesman for Christie could not immediately be reached for comment.