N.J. Senate leader wants to cut taxes for seniors

Senate President Steven Sweeney says the cut for those 62 and older and earning less than $100,000 would keep them living — and spending — in the Garden State.

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney is sponsoring legislation that would exempt Garden State residents over 62 who earn less than $100,000 from paying taxes on their pension.

“We have a lot of seniors who are leaving New Jersey because they’re not working and they don’t have the incomes to keep up with the costs,” said Sweeney Tuesday. “This is a way we can keep our seniors here, which helps our economy. These are people who don’t have kids in schools. This money will go right back into the economy.”

Sweeney said he hopes Governor Chris Christie will go along along with the idea. But Peter Woolley, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said Christie may be reluctant to give up the revenue at a time when the state is struggling for money.

Christie has “got to admit as a Republican and as a tax cutter that the idea is attractive,” said Wooley. “But at the same time, he’s going to have to say ‘How are we going to pay for this guys?’ because everybody is already struggling for money.”