A letter from Rob Kealey published in the Courier Post:
Is your vote for sale? Our legislators, who are all up for re-election, think so, and they want to buy it in this year’s bloated $33.3 billion budget.
They plan to pay some of us to look the other way and vote them back into office by spending money we don’t have. Lucky me, I get a 20 percent tax rebate because my household income is less than $100,000. If you and your spouse together earn more than $100,000, forget about it because your payoff will be smaller.
No one is saying how much my vote is really worth, because they won’t say which of my property taxes (county, county library, county health, municipal, local school, regional school, garbage, etc.) gets rebated. I suspect it won’t be anywhere near the $1,000 they promise me. My friends who rent, because they can’t afford to buy a house in New Jersey, might get up to $350 for their votes.
What we can count on though, is once the politicians who created our mess are re-elected, we’ll learn the state can’t afford any more property tax relief. Gov. Jon Corzine said if things don’t change, we have three choices: raise taxes, cut jobs or sell state assets such as the New Jersey Turnpike and lottery.
Does anyone seriously think the corrupt politicians, who can’t pass no-brainer reforms to stop pension padding or messenger ballot abuse, will make the hard choices needed to give us fiscal sanity? We have two choices.
We can sell our vote and enjoy a one-year dream of property-tax relief because incumbent Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald, D-Voorhees, told us to expect to give it right back when they again raise taxes. Or we can give a chance to new people who care about us. In November, remember who is causing our pain and vote for change.
I suggest Corzine read the constitution of New Jersey of 1948.
How do we square two neighbors side by side,both having similar houses,and one paying thousands less in taxes .Mr Corzine read the constitution it states NJ taxes are Ad Valoram!!You cannot base the real estate taxes on income without violating the NJ Constitution. his 20% rebate is only for people earning under $100,000 tht’s income !
But he also told the Legislature that he’ll veto any tax-relief plan that can’t be funded for years to come.