Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce

DeCROCE SAYS DEMOCRATS SHOULD NOT LOWER EXPECTATIONS FOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

TAXPAYERS DEMAND RELIEF -- NOT EXCUSESSeptember 14, 2006
Republican Leader Alex DeCroce/973-984-0922
Assembly Republican Office/609-292-5339

DeCROCE SAYS DEMOCRATS SHOULD NOT LOWER EXPECTATIONS FOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

TAXPAYERS DEMAND RELIEF -- NOT EXCUSES

Responding to a newspaper story today stating that Democrats are trying to downplay expectations for the on-going property tax reform special session, Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce warned that New Jersey taxpayers are expecting relief -- not excuses.

"If the Democrats are serious about reducing property tax bills they should not be trying to lower expectations while we are still working to find solutions," said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. "New Jersey taxpayers are demanding real relief from this onerous property tax burden and this special session must result in a way to provide that relief -- not a series of excuses for why it can’t be done."

The Philadelphia Inquirer today reported about the expectations for the current property tax reform effort and noted that, "Corzine and Democratic legislative leaders have said they want to provide some immediate relief, in the way of tax credits. But when they talk of longer-term goals, they often speak about stemming growth rather than reducing bills."

The Inquirer story states that Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts has warned against expecting easy fixes out of what was ultimately a complicated process, and that Governor Jon Corzine recently stated that his idea of a realistic goal would be for the state reduce just the growth in property taxes by 20 percent over the next four years.

"The Speaker is absolutely right that this is a complicated process and the answers are not easy," DeCroce said. "But we cannot come out of this process without real relief for the taxpayers."

With the average property tax bill totaling nearly $6,000 per year and the state experiencing annual property tax increases of 6 to 7 percent, the average property tax bill will grow by about $360 next year. If that growth were reduced by 20 percent it would represent just a $72 savings for taxpayers.

DeCroce argued that more substantive property tax relief can be achieved by controlling state spending. He noted that property taxes increased by just over $1.1 billion last year and that there was more than $400 million of pork spending in this year's budget alone, and that Republicans this year proposed more than $2 billion in spending cuts.

"If we would eliminate the pork spending in the budget and take a good hard look at eliminating unnecessary spending, we could provide substantial relief," DeCroce said. "At the end of the day New Jersey homeowners will not be satisfied with a quick fix, or a meager rebate. They want substantive, long-term relief and that is what this process must provide."

DeCroce noted that since 1991, when Democrats lost control of both houses of the Legislature, their mantra has been "Elect us and we will deliver property tax reform."

"It's now been five years since the Democrats regained control of the Legislature and the Governor's office," DeCroce said. "The people are growing weary of empty promises and their expectations are high."

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