Nation IN BRIEF : NEW JERSEY : 5% Income Tax Cut Signed Into Law

Gov. Christie Todd Whitman signed New Jersey’s first income tax cut, a 5% across-the board reduction retroactive to Jan. 1. “This tax cut is a down payment on my promise to cut income taxes by 30% for most New Jerseyans,” Whitman said during a ceremony in Trenton. The reduction will be funded by taking $150 million from a budget surplus account and reducing allocations for Medicaid, state employee health benefits and other items by $135 million. Under the cut, a married couple earning $50,000 in taxable income will pay $57 a year less in taxes, while a couple earning $150,000 will pay $345 less.