Corzine’s Property Tax Plan

“Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine unveiled his long-awaited property tax proposal yesterday, promising to beef up homeowner rebates by 10 percent a year for at least four years if he wins election.”

Isn’t using the phrase “beef up” rather a bit much considering the average New Jersey homeowner would see $68 more in their rebate check next year? How much will the average taxpayer see their property taxes go up next year? How long did it take Senator Corzine to come up with this masterstroke of a plan? Thank God, he didn’t rush something out before thinking it through.

"I think my program is real, it's responsible, it's not excessive, but it's something that has real impact," Corzine said.

That’s one way to put it. Property tax rebates were a bad idea and a gimmick when introduced in 1976 as a companion to the then, newly enacted state income tax; and the program remains a gimmick that wastes taxpayer dollars in administration costs today. If the program had such a “real impact” would people be demanding real property tax relief now? Does Senator Corzine think $68 fills that demand?

The rebate program doesn’t provide real property tax reform or relief and as we know all too well, it provides no guarantees. The program can be reduced or eliminated at the whims of politicians in Trenton. As a matter of fact Corzine was advocating doing just that only a few months back:

In a shift from an earlier position, Corzine said he now flatly opposes a plan by acting Gov. Richard Codey to reduce rebates for senior citizens and the disabled, and eliminate them for other homeowners.

If this was a trial balloon, we think it just went – pop!