RegentAtlantic is set to release a study titled “Exodus on the Parkway: Are Taxes Driving Wealthy Residents out of New Jersey?”
The goal of the study is to encourage a serious and constructive dialogue toward addressing the challenges that New Jersey faces.
In conducting the study, RegentAtlantic consulted with former Governors, a former State Treasurer, the former Chairman of the NJ Council of Economic Advisors, a winner of the Noble Prize in Economics, as well as numerous public policy professionals, attorneys, accountants, and educators.
Some preliminary findings include:
• The NJ Income Tax System incentivizes high income New Jersey workers to live in Pennsylvania. Over a twenty-five year period, a high income wage earner could save $1.8 million by living in Pennsylvania compared to living in New Jersey.
• If a New York City resident chooses to purchase an equivalently priced home in Greenwich Connecticut as opposed to in Summit New Jersey, an additional $3.7 million could be accumulated over a thirty year time period by investing the property tax savings.
• Between 2004 and 2008 families with more wealth left New Jersey than migrated to New Jersey. The net loss of wealth to New Jersey was over $ 69 billion. This resulted in the loss of over $ 1.1 billion in net aggregate charitable contributions.
• Trends project that the number of retirees receiving a New Jersey pension may exceed the number of workers contributing to the pension system.
• New Jersey is in competition with other states and not the federal government. The combination of high income, real estate, and estate taxes reduces NJ’s competitiveness with many states including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
“It is our hope that this study will encourage a serious dialogue aimed at addressing and solving the important challenges facing New Jersey’s economy,” said David Bugen, founding partner and wealth advisor at RegentAtlantic.
“While most of the research and interviews were conducted in 2012 and 2013, the paper was withheld until now, as 2014 is not an election year for state legislators. This fact should facilitate a constructive dialogue and hopefully motivate public policy, labor, and business leaders as well as elected officials to create impactful change so our state can be competitive in today’s ever-changing environment.”
