Stender, Ramos, Evans, Johnson, Coughlin, Conners and Quijano Measures Would Create Check-Off Boxes on Personal, Corporate State Tax Returns
(TRENTON) – Assembly Democratic legislation would create new funds to benefit the New Jersey Red Cross, cancer research, active duty soldiers and the New Jersey Boys and Girls Clubs through voluntary contributions on the state’s corporate and personal income tax returns.
The bills are sponsored by Linda Stender, Ruben J. Ramos Jr., Elease Evans, Gordon M. Johnson, Craig J. Coughlin, Jack Conners and Annette Quijano.
Under the bills, taxpayers would have the option to contribute to any of these new funds through a check-off box to be included on New Jersey’s corporate and personal income tax returns each year.
All four bills were recently unanimously released from the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The first bill (A-1400) would establish the “American Red Cross-NJ Fund.”
“When disaster strikes, the Red Cross is often the first aid service on the scene, providing critical support to those in need,” said Stender (D-Union/ Middlesex/Somerset). “Providing New Jerseyans with the option to support this worthy charity right on their tax return is the right thing to do.”
The second measure (A-1505) would establish the “New Jersey Colon Cancer Research Fund.”
“Education, prevention and early detection are key factors in controlling colorectal cancer,” said Ramos (D-Hudson). “If caught early, nine times out of ten patients can beat back this disease.”
“Giving people an opportunity to engage in the fight against colon cancer directly through their income tax returns will greatly increase the reDests available for desperately needed and potentially life-saving research,” said Evans (D-Passaic/Bergen). “Every dollar donated will get us closer to a cure.”
Another bill (A-2286) would establish the “New Jersey National Guard State Family Readiness Council Fund.”
“These families are heroes,” said Johnson (D-Bergen), a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve. “They too have sacrificed to defend our freedom, coping while a loved one ships to provide crucial support to our soldiers, even as they struggle financially with lost income and increased stress. The least we can do is give New Jerseyans a chance to offer these families their support, too.”
“I am confident that New Jerseyans will be generous enough to donate a few dollars here or there to help these families,” said Coughlin (D-Middlesex). “This bill would make it easy to do just that. And that’s a good thing for everyone involved.”
“The fund would provide support to members of the New Jersey National Guard and their families when they need it most,” said Conners (D-Camden), chairman of the Assembly Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a former National Guardsman and Army Reservist. “This support is intended to help members and their families cope during difficult times when a wage-earner has temporarily left civilian employment to be placed on active military duty. The council provides education, counseling and financial planning, so the spouses of deployed Guard members have what they need to continue supporting their families.”
The fourth bill (A-3267) would establish the “Boys and Girls Club in New Jersey Fund.”
“The Boys and Girls Club provide a safe, educational environment for disadvantaged youth in the otherwise unsupervised hours before and after school,” said Quijano (D-Union). “Giving these kids a viable alternative to drug and gang violence is a worthy cause that deserves an easy option to support.”