Created for a statewide discussion forum in New Jersey on taxes.

This guide is intended to help citizens in New Jersey take stock of the taxes in their state and talk about how to improve the system. It will help answer the question: What is the best way to raise the resources for the public services we decide we want? Which approach, or which parts of several approaches, are most important for policy makers to concentrate on in their efforts to improve the tax system:

• We should stick with what we've got, a tax system that maximizes local control while using state assistance to address problems.
• We should take the state out of the picture and let each community solve its own problems.
• We should give towns new ways to raise tax revenues and control costs.
• We should create a more equitable system by relying more on statewide taxes and less on the property tax.