Republican Jack Ciattarelli emphatically insists that he has no intention of raising the sales tax — or any tax for that matter — if elected governor.

Yet, that is not stopping Democrat Mikie Sherrill from warning voters that is exactly what the former Somerset County lawmaker has up his sleeve.

Ciattarelli telegraphed his intention at a Bergen County forum, she says, when he floated an eyepopping idea — raising the state sales tax to 10% on most consumer items, which would represent a 50% increase from the current rate of 6.625%.

That may strike a ridiculous and discordant to voters who have listened to Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump champion tax cuts. Tax cuts are a mainstay promise of Republican campaigns, and Ciattarelli’s is no different — he proposes cuts to the s

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