rejected by Democrats for the fourth time

TRENTON, N.J. – For the fourth time this year in the Assembly a Republican has proposed eliminating the $10,000 property tax deduction cap on state income taxes.  Assemblyman Kevin J. Rooney stood up on the Assembly floor Thursday and asked for the majority to do what is best for constituents, but to no avail.

“I don’t know why we have to keep asking the majority to provide property tax relief,” said Rooney (R-Bergen). “Our job is to do what is best for our constituents. And after the federal tax law capped deductions the same as New Jersey does, eliminating our own cap is the most logical response for our taxpayers.”

Overall, the Democrat Party has voted against eliminating the deduction cap five times; four times in the Assembly and once in the Senate. Yesterday it was voted down 47-25.

“By not eliminating New Jersey’s $10,000 property tax cap deduction this legislature is sending a message that providing property tax relief is not a priority,” continued Rooney. “I don’t know the reason why the majority has voted against this motion on three previous occasions, but it can’t be a good one.”

Instead, Democrats proposed a workaround that has been rejected by the IRS and will not be implemented until local government charities are approved. There is no timetable for when the IRS will approve the workaround, but eliminating the state cap could be done immediately, Rooney argued.

The average property tax bill is $8,690, up 86 percent since Democrats took control of the Legislature in 2001. In that time the municipal share of property taxes has grown by 112 percent to $2,554.

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