There are almost three times more homeowners than renters. Put another way, the Census data says 83 percent of people who voted in 1998 were homeowners. When the idea for N.J. Saver first surfaced three years ago, it was Governor Whitman who led the charge. At the time, she was the presumptive favorite to take the Republican nomination for the 2000 Senate race that went to Bob Franks. Not one of them included using the sales and income tax surplus to mail homeowners a check.
Property taxes are a serious problem in New Jersey.
Many communities are choking on high taxes because they have no choice but to fund everything via residential property levies. Many proposals have come up that would actually provide property tax relief, including the removal of school funding from property taxes, the regionalization of ratables, cooperative planning, and a TRUE end to unfunded state mandates. But none of these political hot potatoes have been implemented. Instead our leaders are using public tax money to make cash payments to likely voters. This helps to ensure that they will continue in office, and that the most serious problem facing our state will remain unresolved.