New Jersey Fishers Forced to Pay $15 Saltwater Fishing Tax

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Starting January 1 people in the state of New Jersey that want to go saltwater fishing will now have to pay a $15 federal saltwater fishing tax. The New Jersey saltwater fishing tax is ordered by the federal government of all states and US territories that are on the coast. The $15 fishing tax is implied to the 24 coastal states but only 2 have to pay. The program is setup to encourage anglers to register information to the National Saltwater Angler Registry (NSAR) which the 22 other coastal states already do through current state fishing licenses organizations.

 

The NSAR is trying to gain information on the overall condition of the marine life in the coastal regions so that they can better make judgments on fishing quotas that help to stabilize the fishing community as a whole. This seems like a good program to me I'm just sorry that the citizens of New Jersey are the ones that are going to have to pay an additional fee to use their states resources. The people of New Jersey are already paying a fee for their fishing licenses and the legislation to allow the information to be shared with NSAR is stuck in the state Senate.

Why would the senate not want to pass this so that starting January 1 they don't have to put an increased fee on the citizens of New Jersey? It doesn't seem fair to me that the state could require the citizens to pay for there inability to make a decision and share information. The information NSAR wants is easily obtained and New Jersey is stating that a user fee needs to be attached to the purposed legislation to help cover administration costs. I can see where the state wants administration costs to be covered by the fishermen but why can't the funds for that be pulled from tax on saltwater tackle items?

 

Saltwater tackle gear generates around $45 million in revuene for the state of New Jersey and if anglers quit fishing or buying gear in the state then that revuene is lost not only to the state but more importantly to the federal Sport Fish Restoration Fund. The federal Sport Fish Restoration Fund helps to support many programs that make the use and overall enjoyment of our natural resources better. It seems to me that the only people the state of New Jersey are hurting by not pushing this legislation through to help end the $15 fishing tax is the people who enjoy the outdoors and not just saltwater anglers but everyone who uses the outdoors.

 

So what do you think should New Jersey keep the $15 federal saltwater fishing tax or follow the example of 22 other states and give the NSAR the information they want?

 

For more Outdoor Sporting News like the article above visit my blog at OutdoorNews.PoorFish.com