New Jersey's personal income taxes went up yesterday. Married couples and single filers will pay an 8 percent rate on income earned from $400,000 to $500,000 -- up from the 6.37 percent rate. The rate on income from $500,000 to $1 million will now be 10.25 percent, up from 8.97 percent. And income earned over the million dollar mark will now be taxed at a 10.75 percent rate. That is the second highest rate in the nation behind Hawaii. Folks making more than $250,000 will also lose their property tax deduction next year. The income tax changes will raise about $1 billion of badly needed extra revenue. New Jersey did the right thing by raising its income tax on the state's wealthiest citizens.

Maryland, New York, California, Connecticut, and Vermont have already raised income taxes this year, mostly on their richest residents. This is smart. Income taxes are fairer than regressive sales and excise taxes. And income tax increases can raise real money to address real budget problems. Expanded gambling and cigarette taxes can't.

You should read the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' April 20 report, "Raising State Income Taxes on High-Income Taxpayers." The CBPP says that raising income taxes on the wealthiest citizens can help close budget deficits. Indeed, the report says that raising the personal income tax 1 percentage point on households making more than $500,000 would raise a whopping $8 billion nationwide. The CBPP maintains that raising taxes on the really rich is less harmful to the economy than cutting services. The CBPP is right, of course. There's nothing unfair about closing budget deficits by enacting a little tax increase on a guy making $500,000. The people subject to the tax are making more than 99 percent of the population. Call me a big fat liberal, but using that extra tax revenue to support services for the unemployed family needing healthcare and education doesn't bother me one iota.

Conservatives claim that raising the income tax will cause rich people to move. That may be true in the very long run. But in the short run, rich people aren't going anywhere. Think about it. Rich people live in nice neighborhoods, send their kids to good schools, and belong to country clubs. Are they going to leave their personal trainers, plastic surgeons, and golf pros because their taxes went up a couple of thousand dollars? Are they going to spend the time and money selling their house, buying a new one in a lower tax state, and renting a moving van? Wouldn't they have to quit their jobs as well? Somehow I don't see the heart surgeon in Manhattan telling her husband "honey, the taxes are killing us, lets move to Wyoming."

No, the people who are making a $1 million a year will bite the bullet. Sure they might put off buying that new S Class Mercedes for a couple of months. But I think they will manage.