Q&A Friday
Dear Assemblyman Panter,
I am a resident of Marlboro, and since I moved here 15 years ago, my the increases in my property taxes have been astronomical. It's been tough on my family budget, but I do in some ways feel fortunate that at least I am a working person with a growing income, unlike some of the senior citizens living in my neighborhood who are on fixed incomes.
I know state officials have been using this topic as a campaign platform for years, but I long ago lost hope that the property tax problem in New Jersey would really be addressed. Hearing this week, though, that former Governor Codey and the Assembly Speaker have decided to call a special session has me wondering whether I should feel at least a little bit optimistic. Is there any way that this special session will have an effect on our tax bills?
Randall
Marlboro
Dear Randall,
In a word, yes. I am personally very optimistic about the chances this special session has to make a serious difference in the property tax problem.
For anyone who hasn't been following this story, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts and Senate President Codey (the former Governor) earlier this week called for the Legislature to reconvene this summer, during the time when we are typically on a break from voting sessions. The sole purpose of this session is to address the property tax problem. I believe this session is the best chance we have at changing the situation of property owners like you and your neighbors.
Having spent a large portion of my time since taking office discussing shared services and consolidation of municipalities and school districts, it is very encouraging to see that Speaker Roberts and Senate President Codey have envisioned joint committees specifically to study these ideas. In New Jersey, we have a longstanding and unhealthy relationship with the concept of ‘home rule’ which is draining taxpayers’ pocketbooks and limiting our efficiency.
All of the joint committees being convened (the actual lineup is still being discussed with Governor Corzine's office, I hear) will be bipartisan, which I think is an important ingredient in the potential success of the special session as a whole. It is my hope that my colleagues will be able to leave politics at the door and set to work on this problem, which most New Jersey residents put at the top of their priority list.
The Senate President and the Speaker have said that they hope to implement meaningful reform by the end of the year. That would be very good news for every property owner in the state. I'll keep everyone posted as this progresses.
posted by Mike Panter at 6/09/2006 05:24:00 PM
1 Comments:
I am sorry to report that there is little or no hope for genuine property tax reform until the actual problem is acknowledged and addressed. It is that the Property Tax is fundamentally unfair. As it does not take into account one's ability to pay, it automatically (without any special interest tax law snuck in to benefit the well connected) causes those at the bottom to pay a tax relative to income that is obsene.
Here is an example from a woman I have recently spoken to who called me in regard to my letters to the editor.
This is not made up. There is a 79 year old widow who lives in Middletown Twp. She has annual income of $21,000. Her Property Tax bill is $5500. That means she is paying over 25% of her meager income in property taxes.
The top Income Tax rate in NJ for those making $500,000 is only 9%. So one must ask, is this a fair system? Do you think you could live on what this widow has left after paying her taxes? Should she be forced to move from her home of 51 years simply because we have an unjust and oppressive tax system?
How many people making $500,000 also have a $125,000 property tax bill? And even if they did, they certainly might manage to scrape by on the remaining $375,000.
We need to change the system. Until politicians and tax reform groups stop focussing on spending as the problem, there will never be genuine property tax reform.
The writer who lives in Marlboro would probably like to have the peace of mind that comes with know that if they experienced a precipitous drop in their income, they would not be forced from their home because they could no longer afford their property taxes.
Do not mistake what I say. Yes, spending should be addressed. But that should happen regardless of how we collect taxes to fund government services.
One must also acknowledge the reality that there can never be enough "savings" found on the spending side to help people such as the widow mentioned above. Does anyone really believe that cutting her property taxes in half ever happen? And even if it did, can anyone say with a straight face that she should be paying any taxes?
Let's get to the real issue here. The Property Tax is an outdated, oppressive and unjust tax. We must pay for government services a different way than that.
11:03 PM
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