State repeals new tax on commuter parking
Senator, commuters, town lobbied against new sales tax
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK - Local commuters can rest at ease that a newly imposed state sales tax on municipal park-and-ride use has quickly become a thing of the past.

Gov. Jon Corzine last week signed a law repealing the new tax, which had taken effect last fall as part of a larger package that also included taxes on health club initiation and membership fees.

East Brunswick, which operates two heavily used park-and-rides on Route 18, had wrestled with the issue of how to collect the tax, which local officials and commuters complained was an unfair charge and an unnecessary inconvenience.

During the June 25 Township Council meeting, council President Nancy Pinkin noted that the repeal bill, which also allows organizations such as the Raritan Valley YMCA to stop charging the sales tax, had been passed by the state Senate and Assembly, and was awaiting Corzine's signature. That approval came on June 28.

Pinkin said she was thrilled that municipal parking facilities and nonprofit health clubs will now be exempt from charging the sales tax.

"These [park-and-rides] are paid for out of taxpayer dollars. We're trying to keep them affordable and self-sustaining," she said.

Councilman David Stahl said the repeal "corrected a major oversight" on the part of the state.

"For our commuters, the goal is to get them to use public transportation. I'm very grateful the Legislature corrected the oversight, and our commuters can park in the future without the tax," Stahl said.

Pinkin said she realized the state's need to raise revenue, but these facilities were not previously taxed and should remain immune. The nature of the park-and-rides also affected her opinion.

"It's a municipal service," she said. "I felt we don't tax municipal services."

Pinkin added that it makes no sense to impose the tax on commuters in a state that wants more people to use mass transportation to ease congestion on the highways.

State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18) sponsored the bill to repeal the sales tax.

"I, too, believe the state should enact public policies that encourage and facilitate the use of mass transit," Buono wrote in a letter to the East Brunswick Commuter Parking Advisory Committee. The committee, which posted the letter on its Internet message board, had lobbied for the tax to be repealed, and thanked Buono for her leadership in that effort.

Commuters who use monthly parking permits in East Brunswick have been paying the sales tax for several months, costing up to $2.80 per month. The township had yet to begin taxing commuters who purchase daily parking spaces.

The repeal bill states that "the provisions for municipal and residential parking have been difficult to interpret, and posed difficulties in many municipalities."

The bill was initially planned to be retroactive to last October, but that was changed along the way. Pinkin said it would have been too difficult to refund all the tax money collected.

According to the state Department of Treasury, the municipal parking exemption will mean a loss of up to $5 million annually for the state.

Stahl said he was also pleased that the state sales tax had been lifted on for-profit health clubs.

"I think that's a good idea. Obviously, we are all very concerned about the public health. The bottom line is, you will become healthier by participating," he said.