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NJPIRG's Latest Press Conference

http://nj1015.com/tax-loopholes-are-costing-new-jerseyans-audio/ 

Senator Bob Menedez, Congressman Frank Pallone and Mayor of Asbury Park Ed Johnson attended the press conference Thursday, April 4 at Beckman's Newsstand.

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Resolution Passed in Essex County

NEWARK – Wednesday evening the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders adopted a resolution calling on Congress to stop the unprecedented flow of special interest money into elections. The Freeholders urged Congress to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens Unitedruling, which allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections. The resolution was introduced by Freeholder Brendan W. Gill (District 5) and championed by NJPIRG and the New Jersey for the Overturn of Citizens United coalition. The motion passed unanimously.

  Read more at http://www.njpirg.org/news/njp/essex-county-takes-stand-against-unlimited-special-interest-spending-elections 

This is a big accomplishment for NJPIRG considering Essex County encompasses cities such as Newark, Montclar, and the Oranges to name a few.  It just goes to show that hard work pays off.

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NJPIRG End Tax Loopholes press conference 2/5/13

at Gallerie Hudson in Jersey City, NJ

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Letter to the Editor #2

To the Editor:

Three years after the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, American democracy is in danger. Citizens United made it possible for the wealthiest Americans, corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited amounts of money to sway our elections at the expense of average voters.

In New Jersey, non-candidate, non-party groups like Super PACs spent more than $3 million to sway the outcome of our House and Senate races; an incredible 99% of this spending came from out-of-state groups working to undermine the electoral influence of New Jerseyans.[1] And if every one of the 3.2 million households in our state had given just $100 to a political campaign of their choice, it would have taken only 32 of the top donors to Super PACs to match these small contributions dollar for dollar.[2]

Special interests are flooding our elections with unlimited money to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens. To protect our democracy, we must create fair campaign finance rules that guarantee transparency,put in place sensible political contribution limits, and set up a system of incentives that encourages small donors.

  Gianina Cattaneo

NJPIRG Campaign Coordinator

Trenton

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NJPIRG, the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization that works on behalf of its members for fair democracy, good government and public health. njpirg.org

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References:

[1] NJPIRG Law & Policy Center and People for the American Way Foundation analysis of Dēmos, FEC and Sunlight Foundation data. See NJPIRG Law & Policy Center and PFAW Foundation, Outside Spending, Outsized Influence: Big and Secret Money in New Jersey in the 2012 Elections, January 2013, p. 1; http://njpirg.org/reports/njp/outside-spending-outsized-influence.

[2] There were an estimated 3.18 million households in New Jersey in 2011, according to most recent U.S. Census Bureau data. NJPIRG and Dēmos analysis of FEC/Sunlight Foundation data found that the 32 top donors to Super PACs gave an average of $9.9 million in the 2012 election cycle, for a total of $316.8 million. It would take each household in New Jersey giving $99.62 to match this figure. See United States Census Bureau, State & County QuickFacts: New Jersey, January 2013, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html; andBlair Bowie and Adam Lioz, Billion-Dollar Democracy: The Unprecedented Role of Money in the 2012 Elections, NJPRIG Law & Policy Center and Dēmos, January 2013, pp. 8-9; http://njpirg.org/reports/njp/billion-dollar-democracy.

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NJPIRG Citizens United press conference 1/17/13

at the State House in Trenton, NJ. 

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Letter to the Editor #1

To the Editor:

 Every year, America loses up to $150 billion to offshore tax havens – enough revenue to provide Pell Grants to ten million students for four years of college, to more than cover the Sandy reconstruction effort, even to build a manned outpost on the moon.

 A large part of this revenue is lost due to corporate tax loopholes. These loopholes allow many of America’s largest companies to stash money earned in the U.S. in overseas tax havens to avoid paying taxes.

 The revenue lost to offshore tax havens is sorely needed here at home. We can all agree that there are better ways to spend $150 billion – ways that would serve the public, not just a few corporate special interests. Although closing these tax loopholes alone won’t end our country’s fiscal woes, it sure would help.

   It’s time for the public to stop picking up the tab left by corporate tax dodgers.  These big companies benefit from our educated workforce, infrastructure, and security, yet get away scotch free. New Jerseyans should not have to make up for this lost revenue through cuts to public services, more debt, or higher taxes. Closing tax loopholes should be a key part of any “fiscal cliff” conversation. 

  Gianina Cattaneo

NJPIRG Intern

Trenton

  NJPIRG, the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization that takes on powerful interests on behalf of its members, working to win concrete results for our health and well-being.

  References:

  Income shifting by multinational corporations cost the Treasury $90 billion in 2008, from Kimberly A. Clausing, “The Revenue Effects of Multinational Firm Income Shifting,” Tax Notes, 28 March 2011, 1580‐1586; individual income‐shifting costs the Treasury in the range of $40 to $70 billion annually in lost revenue, from Joseph Guttentag and Reuven Avi‐Yonah, “Closing the International Tax Gap,” in Max B. Sawicky, ed., Bridging the Tax Gap: Addressing the Crisis in Federal Tax Administration, 2006. 

  In 2011‐12, 9.4 million students received Pell Grants‐‐a total of $34,532 million in spending. From U.S. Department of Education, Federal Pell Grant Program, 28 March 2012, and College Board Advocacy and Policy Center, Federal Pell Grant Awards in Current and Constant Dollars over Time, October 2012. 

  New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are all seeking a combined $82 billion in federal aid for Sandy clean up and relief efforts. Peter Baker and Raymond Hernandez, "White House to Ask for $50 Billion in Hurricane Relief Aid." The New York Times, December 5, 2012.

  NASA’s Constellation Program to build a manned moon base would cost $145 billion between 2010 and 2020, and would include lunar exploration and a lunar base in the 2020s. See section 6.2.4 of Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation, 2009, available at nasa.gov.