This bill amends New Jersey's Luxury and Fuel-Inefficient Vehicle Surcharge (LFIS) by increasing the price threshold for new luxury passenger automobiles from $45,000 to $70,000. The LFIS is a one-time fee of 0.4 percent imposed on new passenger vehicles that either exceed this sales or lease price or have a fuel efficiency rating of less than 19 miles per gallon. Additionally, the bill introduces a mechanism for adjusting this fee based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) every three years, starting January 1, 2026. The adjusted fee will be added to the sales or lease price and rounded to the nearest whole dollar, with the Director of the Division of Taxation required to publish the updated fee amount on their website by December 1 of the year before the adjustment takes effect.

The bill also clarifies the definitions of "sales price" and "lease price," and specifies that the fee will not apply to new passenger automobiles with a sales or lease price over $70,000 if they have an average fuel efficiency rating of 40 miles per gallon or more, or if they are certified as zero-emission vehicles. The chief administrator is tasked with promulgating rules and regulations to implement these changes effectively. Overall, the bill aims to update the LFIS to reflect current market conditions and promote fuel-efficient vehicles.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39:3-8.3, 39:3-8.4