Gottheimer Announces Tax Cut and Growth Plan

Press Release

Josh Gottheimer, Congressional Candidate for the 5th District, unveiled his Tax Cut and Growth Plan earlier today. Gottheimer, who made the announcement at the Ridgewood Cycle Shop, emphasized that we must support businesses in New Jersey, like the family-owned bicycle shop, with lower tax rates and a simplified tax code, less regulation and government spending, and smart investment in infrastructure. Josh recalled how his own father started his business in the basement of his grandmother's house in New Jersey.

"The best way to grow our economy and bring new businesses and jobs to New Jersey is to lower our tax rates, repeal the Garrett Tax, cut out-of-date regulations, balance the budget, and make targeted investments in infrastructure," said Gottheimer.

Gottheimer criticized Tea Partier Scott Garrett for his failure to bring back a better return on investment for Fifth District families. "Thanks to Scott Garrett, we have become a welfare provider to others states who are taking our hard-earned taxpayer dollars. There's just no reason New Jersey should be pouring billions of dollars to build another road in Mississippi, and not getting the resources we need here for fire trucks, police officers, and schools."

Gottheimer's Tax Cut and Growth Plan focuses on three key pillars:

Cut Tax Rates and Simplify the Tax Code: It is simply too expensive to do business here in New Jersey, leading companies like Hertz and Mercedes-Benz to leave the District and take thousands of good-paying jobs with them. Cutting corporate tax rates, closing loopholes, and eliminating tax shelters will incentivize companies to bring jobs and dollars back home. We must also simplify the tax code and get it down from 5,400 pages to a just few pages, so you don't need a team of accountants to explain what's in it.
Repeal Garrett Tax & Demand a Better Return on Our Investment: The Fifth District is one of the top three percent tax paying Districts in the country. Yet, because of Garrett's extremist Tea Party views, we are only getting 33 cents back for every federal tax dollar we are sending to Washington, one of the worst returns on investment in the country. That is less than half the 68-cent average of the rest of the state and far less than West Virginia, where they get back $4.22 for every dollar they pay in federal taxes. In total, the Garrett Tax is costing the Fifth District $14,000 per person, per year. Gottheimer will advocate for a better return on our federal tax dollars so that we can lower our property and local taxes and use those dollars we are saving from the Garrett Tax, in part, to make key investments in infrastructure and education.
Create an Environment for Economic Growth -- Less Regulation, Less Spending, and Balanced Budgets:Eliminating out-of-date regulations, reining in wasteful government spending, and shrinking our national debt are critical to enabling businesses and our economy to flourish. A "Pay As You Go" (PAYGO) rule, that cannot be circumvented with budget gimmicks, will ensure any new proposal will be either "budget neutral' or offset with savings derived from existing funds to continue federal deficits. Gottheimer also proposed a "REG-GO" would require that for every regulation proposed, another out-of-date regulation would need to be to repealed or updated. He also supports a Balanced Budget Amendment that would require Congress to spend within its means.

"It's clear to me that people want someone with real private sector experience who will work across the aisle -- with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents -- to solve problems, not someone who is going to put their national Tea Party agenda above the needs of the District," said Gottheimer.

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