Self-storage operators in New Jersey, who had to start charging a 7 percent sales tax on storage rentals on Oct. 1, are feeling the pain of lost business and disatisfied customers. A recent article on PressOfAtlanticCity.com included an interview with Charles Sapienzo, owner of CNS Self Storage in Galloway Township, N.J., who said he lost 10 percent of his customers as a result of the new levy. He also had to get a second job to pay his property taxes. Customers are telling him they can't afford their self-storage rent with the new tax. Others want to leave the state altogether.
Other businesses are also feeling the burn, including health clubs, private investigators, tattoo parlors and massage therapists. The tax change is part of a new state budget passed in July.
For more information on how the tax is affecting storage operators, visit the website of the New Jersey Self Storage Association at www.njssa.org.