N.J. Gas Tax Hike: What You Need To Know

Here's what you need you need to know several days after Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic lawmakers hammered out an agreement that could become law by Wednesday evening:

When would the tax take effect?

It's expected to take effect by Nov. 1 to allow retailers time to adjust.

When would road projects that Christie shut down likely restart?

Lawmakers say they expect the shutdown to end immediately. Christie already permitted emergency road projects to relaunch last month.

What other tax changes will come as part of the deal?

The deal includes various tax cuts, including a reduction in the sales tax and an eventual elimination of the estate tax. The estate tax "has been a drag, in my view, on economic growth," Christie said last week.

Under the deal, the estate tax will be phased out over the next 15 months and will be eliminated altogether as of Jan. 1, 2018.

Sales tax reductions include an incremental reduction on Jan. 1, 2017, when it will go down from 7 percent to 6.875 percent. The following year, the sales tax will go down another quarter of a point under the terms of the deal.

Who is opposed to the plan?

Several lawmakers, including Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, and Assemblyman Erik Peterson, R-Hunterdon, have vowed to oppose the measure and do whatever they can to stop it.

Beck has staged several rallies to protest the measure and has helped create a petition signed by nearly 12,000 people who are opposed to the hike.

“The proposed gas tax increase doesn’t fund the tax cuts, so there is no reason to artificially link them in the legislation," Beck said in a statement. “If we can afford the tax cuts on their own, which Senate Democrats say we can, then I think we should pass them.”

Peterson derided the Democratic leadership in both houses for agreeing on a "back-room deal to raise taxes on all hardworking New Jerseyans.”

“The deal not only makes New Jersey unaffordable for many middle class New Jerseyans, but it pays for the special interest tax cuts by borrowing against our children and grandchildren’s future," Peterson said. "That’s unconscionable."

Photos: Patch file photo and Sen. Jennifer Beck