Senator Oroho’s plan to provide the funding needed for New Jersey’s roads and bridges was built upon a scheme to shift that financial burden from New Jersey’s wealthiest citizens to those who have long commutes. Recent reports show that Oroho’s claims to support his position were bogus.

The spike in the gas tax was accompanied in the same bill by the elimination of the state’s estate tax, among other tax cuts that favor the rich. The plan earned the Senator an award for “outstanding achievement in state tax reform” by The Tax Foundation, a group with ties to ALEC, funded in part by the Koch Foundation.

Gushing over the prospect of tax cuts for the wealthy, Oroho explained to the New Jersey Herald: “I want the tax on retirement income eliminated for most New Jerseyans. I am tired of hearing stories of how grandparents are forced to leave their families behind and move to more retirement-friendly states.”

We now know that is simply not true. In a study recently released by New Jersey Policy Perspective shows that New Jersey’s millionaire population has grown significantly over the last decade.

“The latest data point to confirm New Jersey’s ability to attract and retain well-off families comes from Phoenix Marketing International’s most recent annual Wealth & Affluent Monitor, which finds that the Garden State now has the third highest share of millionaires in the country, behind only Maryland and Connecticut,” wrote the group’s Jon Whiten.

The Senator is counting on a charade of fiscal courage by raising the cost of commuting in Sussex County, hoping that registered voters in the County won’t notice that it was simply a smoke screen to deflect attention away from a massive tax five away to the rich.