| Property Taxes, School Funding issues | ||||||||||||
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1-27-07 A1 Tax Caps bill introduced & up for a vote in Asssembly this Monday
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A0500/1_I1.HTM _________________________________ Democrats introduce property tax bill Assembly plans to vote Monday on expanding credits Saturday, January 27, 2007 BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL Star-Ledger Staff A bill to provide the property tax credits and the cap on local tax increases that Democratic legislative leaders have been promising for two months was introduced last night and scheduled for its first and final Assembly vote Monday. The bill (A1) would provide $2 billion for tax credits ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent for homeowners earning up to $250,000 a year. It also would impose a 4 percent limit on year-to-year growth in the amount local governments can raise through property taxes. "We are at the threshold of delivering significant relief in tandem with a system of caps to ensure that taxpayer savings do not get eroded over time," said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden). "In a year when the state's average property tax bill has eclipsed $6,000 for the first time, this system of caps and credits is absolutely essential." Republicans, who have complained that earlier efforts to rein in local spending and reduce local tax bills have been short-circuited by Democratic revisions, balked at being asked to consider a complex bill with little time to review it. "We're going to be seeing this thing for the first time on Monday," he said. "How do you intelligently vote on a bill in two hours time?" Joseph Donnelly, a spokesman for Roberts, dismissed such concerns. "First they (Republicans) say we're moving too slow, now they're saying we're moving too fast, but property tax credits and caps can't wait," he said. Last night's proposal is the first actual legislation to be produced that would enact a 20-percent tax credit plan Roberts and Sen. President Richard Codey (D-Essex) first proposed in November. Since then, lawmakers have haggled with Gov. Jon Corzine over the costs and particulars of the program. It would replace the state's current system of property tax rebates that send between $250 and $350 to non-senior homeowners earning up to $200,000. The new plan would provide credits to about 1.8 million households. For most it would represent a sharp increase in benefits compared to the existing rebates, and it would include homeowners earning between $200,000 and $250,000 who are not eligible for the current program. Senior citizens, who can receive up to $1,200 under the existing tax relief program, would continue to get rebate checks, for their current amount or the amount of the new credit, whichever is larger. For other homeowners, the new tax relief would be applied to the last two quarterly property tax bills sent to residents in August and November each year. The bill also doubles, to $252 million, the money available for tax relief for renters, but does not detail how that will be distributed. The 4 percent cap would for the first time limit the amount of tax local governments can collect, and impose the limits on every level of government, including fire districts, which are currently exempt from existing caps on annual spending increases. The average annual property tax increase in the state has hovered between 6 percent and 7 percent for the past five years. Like a draft bill circulating in the Senate, the Assembly bill would allow exemptions from the cap for a variety of expenses, including bond payments, exceptional increases in health care costs, scheduled growth in pension contributions and cuts in state aid. In addition, local officials and school boards could appeal to the state for cap waivers to accommodate other expenses like rising fuel costs. Assembly officials say the caps will cover about 75 percent of all local spending. "They will apply to the lion's share of spending areas while recognizing that there are some cost drivers that are beyond the ability of local officials and school districts to control," said Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), who is also mayor of West Orange. Dunstan McNichol may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A0500/1_I1.HTM _________________________________ Democrats introduce property tax bill Assembly plans to vote Monday on expanding credits Saturday, January 27, 2007 BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL Star-Ledger Staff A bill to provide the property tax credits and the cap on local tax increases that Democratic legislative leaders have been promising for two months was introduced last night and scheduled for its first and final Assembly vote Monday. The bill (A1) would provide $2 billion for tax credits ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent for homeowners earning up to $250,000 a year. It also would impose a 4 percent limit on year-to-year growth in the amount local governments can raise through property taxes. "We are at the threshold of delivering significant relief in tandem with a system of caps to ensure that taxpayer savings do not get eroded over time," said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden). "In a year when the state's average property tax bill has eclipsed $6,000 for the first time, this system of caps and credits is absolutely essential." Republicans, who have complained that earlier efforts to rein in local spending and reduce local tax bills have been short-circuited by Democratic revisions, balked at being asked to consider a complex bill with little time to review it. "We're going to be seeing this thing for the first time on Monday," he said. "How do you intelligently vote on a bill in two hours time?" Joseph Donnelly, a spokesman for Roberts, dismissed such concerns. "First they (Republicans) say we're moving too slow, now they're saying we're moving too fast, but property tax credits and caps can't wait," he said. Last night's proposal is the first actual legislation to be produced that would enact a 20-percent tax credit plan Roberts and Sen. President Richard Codey (D-Essex) first proposed in November. Since then, lawmakers have haggled with Gov. Jon Corzine over the costs and particulars of the program. It would replace the state's current system of property tax rebates that send between $250 and $350 to non-senior homeowners earning up to $200,000. The new plan would provide credits to about 1.8 million households. For most it would represent a sharp increase in benefits compared to the existing rebates, and it would include homeowners earning between $200,000 and $250,000 who are not eligible for the current program. Senior citizens, who can receive up to $1,200 under the existing tax relief program, would continue to get rebate checks, for their current amount or the amount of the new credit, whichever is larger. For other homeowners, the new tax relief would be applied to the last two quarterly property tax bills sent to residents in August and November each year. The bill also doubles, to $252 million, the money available for tax relief for renters, but does not detail how that will be distributed. The 4 percent cap would for the first time limit the amount of tax local governments can collect, and impose the limits on every level of government, including fire districts, which are currently exempt from existing caps on annual spending increases. The average annual property tax increase in the state has hovered between 6 percent and 7 percent for the past five years. Like a draft bill circulating in the Senate, the Assembly bill would allow exemptions from the cap for a variety of expenses, including bond payments, exceptional increases in health care costs, scheduled growth in pension contributions and cuts in state aid. In addition, local officials and school boards could appeal to the state for cap waivers to accommodate other expenses like rising fuel costs. Assembly officials say the caps will cover about 75 percent of all local spending. "They will apply to the lion's share of spending areas while recognizing that there are some cost drivers that are beyond the ability of local officials and school districts to control," said Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), who is also mayor of West Orange. Dunstan McNichol may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341.
