New Jersey to Tax E-ZPass Users $12 Per Year
The New York Times reports that Governor McGreevey has decided to put a $1 per month surcharge on E-ZPass accounts that are managed by the New Jersey E-ZPass Consortium. This is a bizarre situation because many New Jersey residents who are E-ZPass users are registered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New York State Thruway Authority, or another agency from a bordering state. E-ZPass customers registered with agencies other than the New Jersey E-ZPass Consortium will not be subject to the $1 per month fee, even if they are New Jersey residents.
The New York Times article says, "The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority charges an initial $27 for the plastic transponder, or tag, from its members...." We wonder what would be wrong with a similar initial fee for new E-ZPass customers in New Jersey? If the point of this new fee is to eliminate the reported $469 million debt, why not assess each new user once and be done with it?