chanel
Silver Member
Five years ago, the state promised poor senior citizens and disabled people they could expect help paying their cable television bills under a tax imposed on the cable industry.
Since then, the state has collected a total of $9.2 million from the tax but not a dime has gone to help low-income cable subscribers.
After Gov. Jon Corzine signed the law creating the fund in 2006, no one ever developed a plan to disburse the money. It sat untouched and accumulating until Gov. Chris Christie drained the fund to help plug a big state budget hole last year, state Treasury Department spokesman Andy Pratt confirmed.
Although the tax money was earmarked for the Cable Television Universal Access Fund, "the money is all gone now," Pratt said. "The money was never used for the intended purpose."
N.J. tax to help low-income people pay cable TV bills was instead used to plug budget hole | NJ.com
Personally, I don't think taxpayers should have to subsidize cable TV for anyone. But it's the law, and this kind of stuff boils my blood. This is why NJ is such a mess. Hundreds of taxes and fees going into politician's slush funds.