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McCULLOUGH, POLISTINA & AMODEO:

TAXPAYERS CONTINUE TO LOSE GROUND IN THE BATTLE AGAINST HIGH PROPERTY TAXES

State Senator James “Sonny” McCullough and Republican Assembly candidates John Amodeo and Vince Polistina say the average taxpayer in almost every municipality in the 2nd Legislative District has lost ground in the fight against high property taxes since the Democrats took control of the state Legislature and their opponents offer no plan for permanent relief and reform.

“The rebate checks don’t even come close to undoing the damage the Democrats have done to the taxpayers over the past six years,” said McCullough, R-Atlantic.

McCullough said his Democratic opponent, Assemblyman Jim Whelan, has only exacerbated the property tax problem during the two years he has been in office by supporting a total freeze on state education aid for all school districts last year and only a “pittance” of relief this year.

“Democrats have allowed property taxes to soar by nearly 40 percent over six years,” noted Polistina. “Whalen and his cohorts promised the voters that they were going to lower property taxes. They didn’t deliver. There’s no reason to believe that our challengers, Joe Wilkins and Blondell Spellman, will be any more trustworthy than Whalen was after the election.”

“Assembly Republicans offered a fiscally responsible plan to permanently lower property taxes by 30 percent for seniors and households earning less than $200,000, and by 20 percent for all other homeowners,” Amodeo said. “Whelan and the Democrats voted to stop the plan in its tracks. Then they went ahead with a rebate program that isn’t permanent or adequately funded for next year. In the meantime, taxpayers continue to suffer and have been hit even harder by the fact they must now declare their rebate as income for tax purposes.”

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