Is the Proposed New Jersey Stormwater Management Fee an Unfair Tax?

A little less than six years ago, in The “Rain Tax”?, I examined the storm management fee enacted by Maryland, which critics called a “rain tax.” I explained that it was not a “rain tax” because the water that runs off properties can be from sources other than rain, such as vehicle washing and lawn watering. I responded to one critic’s concern about the computation of the tax. I also responded to a long list of objections raised by opponents of the fee.The New Jersey legislature has passed a bill that would permit local governments to set up stormwater entities to collect fees on property owners and occupants who contribute to stormwater runoff. And, not surprisingly, it has opponents. Last Thursday, in a letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer that does not appear to be online, David F. Lipton of Toms River, N.J., called it a “rain tax,” described it as a “lawyer’s dream,” and a…

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