Tuesday, June 29, 2004
"Millionaire Tax" - Big F'ing Whoop
So Governor McGreevey signed off on the bill raising the income tax, proceeds of which are to be used for what he (apparently without intending a joke) calls "property tax relief." I don't see any relief in the state collecting more income tax while the local taxing authorities continue to levy the same exorbitantly high property taxes. So what if the state sends out so-called rebate checks? It doesn't ease the tax burden on anyone - my monthly nut doesn't go down at all. If a homewowner is hard-pressed to pay their mortgage and carrying charges today, they'll be no less stressed tomorrow. It helps me not at all to get a once-a-year, not-very-large, "rebate" check. And never mind the likes of me ... if living-on-a-fixed-income seniors are being taxed out of their homes by rising municipal and school budgets, no check from Trenton is going to help them pay their tax bills.
If McGreevey, Codey, and company really want to ease the property-tax burden on us home-owners, they'll pass that new tax revenue directly to Boards of Education, City Councils, Township Committees, Trustees, and the rest of the several thousand local taxing authorities in New Jersey. Designate it as a direct offset against property taxes, so the rates can go down - giving us all relief, every month, when those mortgage/escrow bills are due.
I certainly won't tear up that check, Mr. Governor, but if you wanted to help stressed property owners, this ain't gonna do it.
So Governor McGreevey signed off on the bill raising the income tax, proceeds of which are to be used for what he (apparently without intending a joke) calls "property tax relief." I don't see any relief in the state collecting more income tax while the local taxing authorities continue to levy the same exorbitantly high property taxes. So what if the state sends out so-called rebate checks? It doesn't ease the tax burden on anyone - my monthly nut doesn't go down at all. If a homewowner is hard-pressed to pay their mortgage and carrying charges today, they'll be no less stressed tomorrow. It helps me not at all to get a once-a-year, not-very-large, "rebate" check. And never mind the likes of me ... if living-on-a-fixed-income seniors are being taxed out of their homes by rising municipal and school budgets, no check from Trenton is going to help them pay their tax bills.
If McGreevey, Codey, and company really want to ease the property-tax burden on us home-owners, they'll pass that new tax revenue directly to Boards of Education, City Councils, Township Committees, Trustees, and the rest of the several thousand local taxing authorities in New Jersey. Designate it as a direct offset against property taxes, so the rates can go down - giving us all relief, every month, when those mortgage/escrow bills are due.
I certainly won't tear up that check, Mr. Governor, but if you wanted to help stressed property owners, this ain't gonna do it.
