| TRENTON, N.J. – Social security benefits should not be subject to federal income taxes, Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and Paul Kanitra say.
The Ocean County lawmakers, who represent a large senior citizen constituency, introduced a resolution Thursday supporting New Jersey Congressman Van Drew’s “Social Security Tax Freedom Act” that would exempt those benefits from federal income taxes. The resolution urges the president and Congress to enact that legislation.
“Decades of Democrat policies have made New Jersey a tough state to get by in, especially for our seniors on fixed incomes,” McGuckin (R-Ocean) said. “We’ll keep fighting to lower taxes at the state level. And when we can, we’ll support cutting federal taxes.”
Started in 1935 as a federal social insurance system for citizens ages 65 and older, Social Security eventually expanded to include survivors of deceased workers, dependents of retired workers, disabled workers and their dependents, and early retirees.
Thirty percent of private sector workers rely solely on these benefits in their retirement. The average monthly Social Security payment in 2024 is $1,907.
Before 1984, Social Security beneficiaries did not pay federal income tax on those payments. That changed that year after the National Commission on Social Security Reform suggested taxing up to 50% of those benefits. That threshold increased to 85% in 1993.
New Jersey, along with 41 states and the District of Columbia, does not tax Social Security benefits.
“In the vast ocean that is the federal budget, these taxes collected on Social Security is a drop in the bucket. For the beneficiaries, it can mean the difference between eating or filling a prescription,” Kanitra (R-Ocean) added. “It’s way past time to rein in our reckless federal and state spending and let the people keep their own money.” |
