State of New Jersey
Executive Order #103

Governor Christine Todd Whitman

WHEREAS, New Jersey's Sales and Use Tax is a substantial source of revenue for the State, generating in excess of $5 billion annually for essential programs and services; and

WHEREAS, a broad base of the Sales and Use Tax allows the State to maintain a tax rate of six percent; and

WHEREAS, there are currently over one hundred separate pieces of legislation pending in the Legislature that would reduce the base of the Sales and Use Tax Act, N.J.S. A.54:32B-1 et seq., by excluding from taxation products including bicycle and skating helmets, books, car seats, computers purchased by teachers, fire detection equipment, medical alarm equipment, non- gasoline powered lawn care equipment, and shoe soles and heels; and

WHEREAS, there have been several recent enactments exempting products from the Sales and Use Tax and several bills pending on my desk that provide exemptions for aircraft repairs, Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill No. 1952/977, and firearm trigger locks and vaults, Assembly Bills Nos. 2420 and 2421, and increasing the exemption threshold for vending machines, Assembly Bill No. 2139; and

WHEREAS, there are currently several pieces of legislation pending in the Legislature that would expand the base of the Sales and Use Tax Act by subjecting products such as pay-per-view video programs to that tax; and

WHEREAS, the ad hoc reduction and expansion of the base of the Sales and Use Tax is gradually changing a tax that is simple to collect, easy to enforce, and a stable revenue generator into a tax that is increasingly more cumbersome to collect, difficult to enforce, and counterproductive to generating stable revenue for essential government programs and services; and

WHEREAS, there is a need for a comprehensive, coordinated review of any pending legislation reducing or expanding the base of the sales tax before any new measures become law, and for an analysis of the effectiveness of any newly enacted legislation, including Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill No. 1952/977, Assembly Bills Nos. 2420, 2421 and 2139 to ensure that such enactments advance legitimate goals, including but not limited to economic development or business retention;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

1. The creation of the Advisory Committee on the Sales and Use Tax (the "Advisory Committee").

2. The Advisory Committee shall be charged with reviewing proposed expansions and reductions to the base of the Sales and Use Tax as proposed by the Legislature and making recommendations to the Governor and Legislature as to whether such proposals should be enacted into law; furthermore, the Advisory Committee shall be charged with reviewing any new legislation that expands or reduces the base of the Sales and Use Tax within three years of such enactment, and making recommendations to the Governor and Legislature as to whether such legislation has effectively advanced the legitimate goals of the legislation; the foregoing recommendations shall be made by a simple majority vote of Advisory Committee.

3. The Advisory Committee shall be composed of up to 11 members, as follows:

a. The State Treasurer or designee;

b. The Director, Division of Taxation or designee;

c. A representative of a State department or agency to be appointed by the Governor;

d. A professor of the higher education community with substantial expertise in State tax policy to be appointed by the Governor;

e. A member of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate;

f. A member of the Assembly to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly;

g. Five members of the public to be appointed by the Governor;

The Governor shall designate a chair and vice-chair from among the members of the Advisory Committee. The members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties subject to the availability of funds therefor.

4. The Advisory Committee shall organize and meet as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members. The chair shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the Advisory Committee. Vacancies on the Advisory Committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

5. All State departments and agencies are hereby directed, to the extent not inconsistent with the law and within budget constraints, to cooperate with the Advisory Committee and to respond to requests for such information, personnel and assistance as may be necessary to accomplish the purpose of this Order.

6. This Order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal,
This 15th day of October in the
Year of Our Lord, One Thousand
Nine Hundred and Ninety-nine,
and of the Independence of the
United States, the Two Hundred
and Twenty- Fourth.

/s/ Christine Todd Whitman
Governor

[seal]

Attest:

/s/ Richard S. Mroz
Chief Counsel to the Governor