Word is getting out
People are talking and the media is finally starting to pick up on the story. This week saw two published Opinion pieces on the tax on NJ.com and USA Today. The Sandpaper on LBI is running a piece in next week’s edition as well. Legislators are learning what they have done and how upset people are about it but there’s still more to do.
We’ve started making waves
Legislators are commenting on the amount of feedback they have gotten already, but that’s not enough. Many of them were unaware of what they had actually voted for. They believed that this was strictly an “AirBnB” tax that only targeted online booking sites. A number of them have said that taxing direct rentals was NOT the intent. Admitting that is the first step. Now we actually need them to FIX this law.
Help from the NJ Assembly
Many of you have probably heard of “VRLBI” which is a local LBI-based website for renting shore houses. The founder, Duane Watlington who is also an owner on the island, has been spearheading the effort to get this legislation fixed. This week he had the opportunity to sit down with Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo and his staff. They have agreed to work on a ‘clarification’ of the law (basically advising the State Treasury NOT to tax individual rentals by owner). Ideally, we would prefer that they correct the wording of the law to exempt ‘Shore Rentals’ but that process could take many months. A ‘clarification’ is the next best thing so that is what Assemblyman DeAngelo is aiming for.
We need your help…
Assemblyman DeAngelo will need support from other legislators and this is specifically how he instructed us to reach them. It won’t take much time, but we need each of you to help so we can keep the momentum going!
If you ARE a NJ resident, we need each of you, and each voting member in your household (if possible) to make 4 PHONE CALLS.
- Call the Governor’s Office at: 609-292-6000
- Call BOTH of your State Assemblymen/women for your home district
- Call your State Senator for your home district
Here is the link to look them up: Member Look Up (Alternate)
What should I say?
If you need help with what to say, please feel free to use the following script:
“As a Resident of New Jersey and a frequent visitor to the Jersey Shore, I am contacting you today to express my concerns regarding the new “Shore Tax” that has been interpreted incorrectly by the Division of Taxation regarding Assembly bill A1753. In a state still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, adding a 12% tax to our lodging costs will significantly cut into our vacation budget and will hurt the local businesses that count on our tourism dollars! I am asking that you support and assist in the clarification efforts led by Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo of District 14, so this tax can be applied as intended on bookings made on AirBnB and NOT on the For Rent by Owners who don’t use online booking sites or local Realtors. If you could please call me back, I would like to learn your position on this effort.”
If you are NOT a NJ resident, we still need each of you to make 1 PHONE CALL.
- Call the Governor’s Office at: 609-292-6000
What should I say?
If you need help with what to say, please feel free to use the following script:
“As a frequent visitor to the Jersey Shore, I am contacting you today to express my concerns regarding the new “Shore Tax” that has been interpreted incorrectly by the Division of Taxation regarding Assembly bill A1753. In a state still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, adding a 12% tax to our lodging costs will significantly cut into our vacation budget and will hurt the local businesses that count on our tourism dollars! I am asking that you support and assist in the clarification efforts led by Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo of District 14, so this tax can be applied as intended on bookings made on AirBnB and NOT on the For Rent by Owners who don’t use online booking sites or local Realtors. If you could please call me back, I would like to learn your position on this effort.”
If you are on social media like Twitter and FaceBook, you can also direct social media posts at the Governor. Tweet at him on Twitter @GovMurphy or re-tweet my message HERE. You can also visit his Facebook page and leave him a message there.
Thank you in advance for helping us to stop the State of New Jersey from taxing your Jersey Shore Vacation!
Tim Krug
Beach Haven 7
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