Gov. Chris Christie and New Jersey state legislators have agreed on a series of tax cuts and funding for the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), bringing to an end the months-long impasse on the issue that led Christie to order a shutdown of TTF projects.

The plan calls for a gas tax increase of 23 cents per gallon, which the governor’s office says will cost the average citizen of the state between $184 and $276 per year. The plan calls for “flat” transportation investment, but will include $2 billion of work over the next eight years.

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Details of the tax cuts, which officials say could save taxpayers $164 million in 2017 and $1.4 billion by 2021, include:

* On January 1, 2017, the sales tax will go from 7% to 6.875%. The following year on January 1, 2018, the sales tax will go from 6.875% to 6.625%. A .375% decrease in the sales tax is the first statewide tax cut that has been given in New Jersey since 1994.
* Raising the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor to 35 percent of the federal benefit amount beginning in Tax Year 2016.
* Increasing the New Jersey gross income tax exclusion on pension and retirement income over four years to $100,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for individuals and $50,000 for married/filing separately.
* Phasing out the estate tax over the next 15 months, replacing the current $675,000 threshold with a $2 million exclusion after January 1, 2017 and eliminating the estate tax altogether as of January 1, 2018.
* Providing a personal exemption on state income taxes for all New Jersey veterans honorably discharged from active service in the military or the National Guard.