New Jersey Comeback scorecard looks at 4 economic indicators

Jobs. Finances. Real estate. Transportation. These are among the elements of a Jersey comeback that Gov. Chris Christie has been touting for more than a year across the state.

In case you missed it, PolitiFact New Jersey on Sunday presented a scorecard in those four areas for 2009 – the year before Christie took office – to the most recent data available. On Monday, the Truth-O-Meter rated a claim by U.S. Sen. candidate Joe Kyrillos that the country’s corporate tax rate is among the highest in the world.

Scorecard

Christie has said he will not use the phrase “Jersey Comeback” when he gives the keynote address tonight at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, but will instead discuss his accomplishments as governor and why Republicans should support Mitt Romney for president. Stewardship of the economy  is a large part of Christie’s record as governor, which is why our scorecard reviews New Jersey’s performance in four key categories.

Kyrillos claim

Kyrillos, a Republican state senator  from Monmouth County running for the U.S. Senate, claimed in an Aug. 20 interview on WOR-AM that he wants to lower tax rates, noting that the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. There are two ways to examine corporate tax rates, however. In terms of statutory corporate tax rate, the U.S. rate is the highest among industrialized nations. In terms of effective corporate tax rate, however, various tax breaks make the U.S. rate one of many at the top worldwide. The Truth-O-Meter rated the claim Mostly True.  

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Convention claims

If you hear a claim during the Republican National Convention from a New Jerseyan that piques your interest, or any other claim from a public figure that you think might be questionable, share it with us in an e-mail to politifactnj@starledger.com and we may test it on the Truth-O-Meter.

The PolitiFact New Jersey team will be live tweeting throughout Christie’s keynote address tonight. Follow us @PolitifactNJ. You can also visit us on Facebook.