July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Most New Jersey voters approve of the $1.2 billion in tax increases enacted this week by Governor Jon Corzine, including higher income taxes for the wealthy and increased charges on cigarettes, wine and liquor, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind poll.

Sixty-four percent of voters said it was a good idea to raise taxes on wine and liquor, and 55 percent said they support Corzine’s plan to scale back the property tax deduction on the state income tax. Fifty-two percent also said they support a wage freeze and unpaid leaves for state workers.

In an April 7 PublicMind poll, 72 percent said they would rather curb spending than raise taxes.

“I expected more backlash and I expected less support” for raising taxes, said Peter Woolley, director of PublicMind. “It goes to show you that people are happy to tax other people.”

Corzine, 62, signed a $29 billion budget June 29 that raised the tax on cigarettes to $2.70 a pack from $2.575, boosted the charge on wine to 87.5 cents a gallon from 70 cents and on liquor to $5.50 a gallon from $4.40. It also included a one-year increase in the income-tax rate for those whose earnings exceed $400,000. The plan also generally suspends the property-tax deduction for those making more than $250,000.

Corzine’s challenger in the November election, Republican candidate Christopher Christie, a former U.S. attorney, leads the incumbent, 45 percent to 39 percent, among registered voters, the poll found. The April poll, taken before Christie won the Republican primary election, found him leading Corzine, 42 percent to 33 percent.

In the most recent survey, 21 percent of voters said the state is on the right track, the lowest reading since at least March 2006.

PublicMind, based in Madison, New Jersey, surveyed 803 registered voters between June 22 and June 29. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Trenton, New Jersey, at tdopp@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 1, 2009 05:00 EDT