As I write this from New Jersey, the land of the fee, with the roads badly paved, our Legislature has reached an impasse on a plan to increase our gasoline tax by 23 cents a gallon.  For many years, New Jerseyans have had the privilege of paying “only” 14.5 cents a gallon. We never actually had an opportunity to enjoy this uncharacteristic gesture of government largesse, however, because New Jerseyans struggle under the crippling load of the highest overall tax burden of any of the 50 States.  Let’s recap. New Jersey’s income tax is double the national average, and one of the highest in the nation.  The corporate tax is 33% higher than average, and the 2nd highest in the nation.  Our property taxes are twice the national average, and the highest in the nation.  Our sales tax is 27% higher than the average sale taxes in other States.  Our cigarette taxes are the 2nd highest nationwide. Then there are the estate and inheritance taxes.  That’s right, New Jersey is one of only three States that has both. Adding insult to mortality, New Jersey’s estate tax exemption is the lowest in the nation at $675,000.  Given Jersey home values, that means that, if you own an average value home and some furniture, you’re over the limit.  What’s more, the estate and inheritance taxes each top out at 16%.  New Jersey is the most expensive place to die in America.  Put another way, when it’s cheaper to do anything in New York, you know you’re really getting screwed.  One way to look at it is that the exorbitant cost of death motivates New Jerseyans to keep living, so that they can keep paying all the other taxes. Insidious.  The burden is so bad that New Jerseyans with money are leaving the State in droves.  Think the rich don’t pay enough?  The recent departure of a New Jersey billionaire for Florida put the entire State budget at risk.  Against the above-detailed tax landscape, our leaders repeatedly told us that it was only fair that the gas tax should be raised.  Why you ask?  Well, because New Jersey’s gas tax was not the highest in the nation.  A prime example of government logic hard at work. So, back to the gas tax.  This year there was near unanimous agreement that the gas tax had to go up.  Why so urgent?  The Transportation Trust Fund, from which NJ spends $1.6 billion a year on road projects, is empty.  Why is it empty?  Maybe because New Jersey spends over $2 million per mile on road construction, maintenance and administration.  That’s three times more than the next highest state, and 12 times the national average. Wow!  Since New Jersey spends so much on roads, we must have the best roads in the country, right?  Wrong.  New Jersey roads are tied for 48th out of 50 for the worst urban roadways.  The solution?  Raise taxes, so that we can spend $2 billion a year on the roads.  Where does all that money go?  Mostly to unions and road contractors, then back to politicians.  The unions and contractors are paid top dollar to produce some of the worst roads in America, then the unions and contractors send “contributions” to the politicians, who approve more road spending.  An elegant means of keeping the graft equally spread around.  And so, it came to pass that New Jersey politicians, led by Governor Christie, concocted a plan to raise the gas tax.  In the name of “tax fairness” (a little known concept in New Jersey) while the gas tax was to go dramatically up, this was to be offset by tax reductions.  Oh, the horror!  The plan would eliminate the estate tax over a four-year period; increase the Earned Income Tax Credit from 30 percent to 40 percent of the federal level (because those who pay no tax at all deserve a raise); exempt retirees from paying state income taxes on up to $100,000 of retirement income; and allow the deduction of charitable contributions to New Jersey charities from state tax returns.  Tax fairness is where the plan ran into trouble with Democrats.  The Legislature failed to pass the proposal by July 1. One Democrat legislator even was quoted as saying, “Tax fairness? We don’t need that.”  At this writing, no solution has emerged.  The Governor has closed down all road projects.  The unions, contractors and politicians can go only so long without a fresh infusion of tax dollars, so I expect they will break the logjam.  Even had the bill passed, the tax increase was immediate and the reductions were phased in over several years.  Sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it?  At the end of the day, I’m quite sure that the beleaguered taxpayers are in for one more good hard screwing.  Fairness?   We don’t need no stinkin’ fairness.