By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A new year brings new laws in New Jersey, tax cuts and a minimum wage hike among them.
The Garden State continues to roll out tax changes that Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature agreed to in 2016 as part of negotiations to raise the gasoline tax and replenish the transportation trust fund.
Notably, New Jersey no longer has the distinction of being one of only two states to collect an estate tax and an inheritance tax. As of Jan. 1, Maryland is on its own.
Business and commerce groups pushed for the elimination of the estate tax, which they argued chased wealth out of the state, while liberal advocacy groups called it a giveaway to the rich at the expense of funding for much-needed safety net programs.
It's one of two tax changes you'll see in the new year.
Here are seven new laws that may affect you that took effect Jan. 1:
1. A bump in the minimum wage
New Jersey's minimum wage is rising 16 cents to $8.60 an hour this year.
The minor increase is driven by a bump in the consumer price index, which by constitutional amendment is used to set the minimum wage each year.
Wages rose from $8.38 in 2016 to $8.44 in 2017.
New Jersey's minimum wage is governed by a state Constitutional amendment approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2013. The ballot question raised the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $8.25 and tied future increases to inflation.
A worker in New Jersey working 40 hours per week at minimum wage will earn about $18,000 a year.
Liberal think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective estimated the new wage floor will provide immediate, but nominal, wage increases for 91,000 workers earning between $8.44 and $8.60 an hour.
Another 200,000 workers who make between $8.60 and $8.76 per hour should see a raise as well "as employers adjust their pay scales upward to reflect the new minimum wage," NJPP estimated.
Those 300,000 workers represent 7.5 percent of the state's workforce, NJPP said.
2. New expiration dates for driver's licenses
Happy birthday!
Under this new law, your driver's license will expire every four years on your birthday.
In the past, Garden State licenses expired on the last day of the month every four years. Gov. Chris Christie and lawmakers pushed the change to cut down on the long wait times and lines that would form at motor vehicle agencies near the end of each month.
Spreading expiration dates throughout the month should avoid the delays when trying to renew your license, lawmakers said.
3. A cut in the sales tax
That gas tax deal included Gov. Christie's desired reduction in the sales tax. The second step in the two-step cut takes effect this year.
The sales tax decreased from 7 percent to 6.875 percent on Jan. 1, 2017, and to 6.625 on Monday.
While a win for Christie, who wanted a broad-based tax cut to coincide with the higher gas tax, the sales tax cut is a big hit to the state's pocketbook. The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services estimated at the time the sales tax reduction will cost the state budget $655 million a year by 2022.
NJPP estimated the tax cut would save households with income between $49,000 and $79,000, $86. Savings increase to $116 for households with $79,000 to $132,000 in income; $255 for households with $286,000 to 808,000 in income; and $723 for households with more than $808,000 in income.
(Pixabay)
4. Death of the estate tax
The state's controversial estate tax died on Monday.
Lawmakers voted to phase out the estate tax in 2016 as part of a deal to raise the tax on gasoline to fund transportation projects in New Jersey.
The exemption for estates increased from $675,000 to $2 million at the start of 2017. Now, it's off the books.
The state still has an inheritance tax charged to non-lineal descendants who inherit property or money after someone's death.
5. No more public safety interest arbitration cap
The 2 percent cap on salary increases that police and firefighters can win in arbitration expired at the end of 2017.
Local government officials say this cap has helped them stay within a 2 percent cap on increases in spending and without it, they'll have to exploit loopholes in that cap or slash programs.
An analysis of the cap released this fall found it saved taxpayers $530 million on police and firefighter salaries. Labor leaders and Democrats called that report one-sided and incomplete.
Gov. Chris Christie had urged the Legislature to renew the cap, but Democratic leaders, including Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, said they were waiting for a follow-up report before making a decision on extending the cap, though there was never any indication a second report was forthcoming.
6. Retirement income tax exclusion gets a boost
The gas tax deal included a five-fold increase in the income tax break for retirees.
The limit for a married couple filing jointly to begin paying state income taxes jumps from $40,000 to $60,000 this year. It will increase to $80,000 in 2019 and $100,000 in 2020.
For a married person filing separately, it increases from $20,000 to $30,000 this year. It will rise to $40,000 in 2019 and $50,000 in 2020.
For individuals, it increases from $30,000 to $45,000 this year, to $60,000 in 2019 and to $75,000 in 2020.
7. Carbon monoxide poisoning education for drivers
Starting in 2018, new driver education will include instruction on the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from motor vehicles.
The Rosa-Bonilla Family Act was adopted after a woman and her two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning in January 2016. Sashalynn Rosa and her two young children, Messiah and Saniyah, were found unresponsive in their car after the tailpipe became covered by snow. The family was waiting inside the car while Felix Bonilla Jr. was shoveling around the vehicle.
Under the law, new drivers will receive carbon monoxide safety tips and will find questions about the dangers on their written exams. Motor vehicle commissions also will make available informational brochures on carbon monoxide poisoning.
Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com . Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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