February 27, 2008
Cherry Hill Courier Post on Property Tax Rebates
By Jason Method, Cherry Hill Courier Post—Cherry Hill, NJ
The popular property tax rebates mailed to state residents in the fall will take among the biggest hits under Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed state budget cuts.
Spending on the rebate programs will be slashed by $381 million as the state cuts back on checks to renters and to higher-earning homeowners. The $2.5 billion allocated for direct property tax relief is $519 million less than what first had been projected.
Homeowners in households that make $150,000 or more will not receive a rebate check this year, under Corzine's plan. Last year, the income cut-off was $250,000 or more, while households with incomes between $150,001 and $250,000 got rebates equal to 10 percent of their property tax bill, though capped at $1,000.
Households that make between $100,000 and $150,000 will see their rebates slashed by one-third, Corzine said. Such households would receive rebates equal to 10 percent of their tax bills, rather than 15 percent, capped at $1,000, rather than $1,500.
Households that make less than $100,000 will receive the same rebate check as last year, but that means there will be no increase to account for increased property taxes, acting Treasurer David Rousseau said Tuesday.
Rebates last year averaged $1,051. New Jersey had the highest property taxes in the nation in 2005, according to the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C. [Read the full article.]
