Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Christie Says No Cuts Ruled Out as He Faces $807 Million Deficit

No cuts are being ruled out as New Jersey works to close an $807 million revenue gap with eight weeks left in the fiscal year, Gov. Christie said Tuesday.

No cuts are being ruled out as New Jersey works to close an $807 million revenue gap with eight weeks left in the fiscal year, Gov. Christie said Tuesday.

"I'm going to use every tool at my disposal to get a balanced budget," Christie told reporters in Trenton. "Nothing is off the table. It would be irresponsible with 60 days left in the fiscal year to say anything's off the table."

Income-tax collections led the drop in revenue, coming in $700 million under Christie's targets, according to a statement Monday from the Treasury Department.

Preliminary figures from 45 states indicate tax collections rose during the first quarter of 2014 at the slowest pace since the recession, according to a report Tuesday from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y. The slowdown resulted from some investors selling stocks and collecting other income before higher federal taxes took effect in 2013.

Christie blamed the decline on a decision by President Obama and Congress to raise taxes on high-income earners as part of a deal to head off the so-called fiscal cliff.

"People will change their behavior to avoid it, and we're now seeing the results of that," Christie said. "What we saw here is not only us but treasury departments across the country underestimated the effect those changes would have."

He declined to specify any cuts. He said his administration would release its plan when Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff testifies before lawmakers May 21 and 22.