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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
Paying for Government: What does this remarkable system of government, this bewildering aggregation of State departments and local units,
cost the people of New Jersey, and how do they pay for it? Dogmatic
answers cannot be given to these questions because of the inadequacy of
the records and because of theoretical differences in opinion as to just
what should be included in the term "cost of government." The following
statements dealing primarily with the revenue system will give, however,
a rough sketch of the problem.
According to Local Government Bulletin No. 2 of the Princeton Local
Government Survey, the total State and local taxes levied in New Jersey
for the year ending December 31, 1935, were $320,477,621. A little more
than a quarter of this amount was in State taxes, the rest in local taxes.
Since the State returns a considerable amount of its revenues to local units,
the Princeton survey points out that the total tax bill was earmarked for
expenditure by the several units of government in the following proportions:
| State | $58,134,259 |
| Municipalities | $133,340,732 |
| School Districts | $80,470,796 |
| County | $48,531,834 |
The Princeton report concludes, therefore, that "local government in New Jersey, including the counties, spends over four-fifths of the State and local tax dollar."
It must be borne in mind that the above figures do not represent actual total expenditures or costs of government. Something less than a third of the money used in government in New Jersey is derived from non-tax revenues in the form of a great variety of fees, permits, grants, earnings, etc. In addition, a considerable amount of borrowed money is spent each year, but such money must be repaid out of receipts from taxes and other sources.
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