New Jersey may stop paying federal taxes under new governor
New Jersey’s newly elected Governor Mikie Sherrill is raising the possibility of the state cutting federal tax dollars in protest of the Trump administration.
Sherrill’s comments — Made on comedian Jon Stewart’s podcast — highlights how she is trying to find ways to oppose President Donald Trump’s agenda. Sherrill won the closely watched governor’s race in New Jersey in a landslide earlier this month, with the results widely seen as a referendum on Trump.
It’s unclear how such a proposal would work, and Sherrill’s transition team declined to provide details. The Garden State routinely pays more in taxes to the federal government than it takes in, according to an analysis. Rockefeller Institute.
Speaking to Stewart, Sherrill said he had “always” considered withholding federal tax revenue and that it was a “great idea.”
“If they’re not going to run the programs, what are we paying them for?” he said. “It’s like you’re paying us for a service but they’re not providing the service. So let’s stop paying for it.”
Sherrill appears to be taking a page from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s playbook. In June, Newsom similarly floated the idea of California stopping paying federal taxes. never happened. Later he told POLITICO He said the proposal would be difficult, especially since individuals and businesses pay taxes to the federal government, not states.
“We evaluate, we examine and [the Department of] Finance is looking at various options. But it is limited because most of that distribution and transfer comes from individual taxpayers,” Newsom said later.
Federal funding cuts featured prominently in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race. During the federal government shutdown, Trump threatened to “end” funding for the Gateway tunnel, a massive infrastructure project to build new train tunnels under the Hudson River.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
