|
Stepping Back to Governor's Race, New Jersey Candidates Talk Taxes
Originally appeared in The New York Times on September 25, 2001
TRENTON, Sept. 24 - The campaign for New Jersey governor was back in full swing today, as Bret D. Schundler unveiled a sweeping tax cut proposal for elderly homeowners while his Democratic rival, James E. McGreevey, released a new television advertisement in which he discusses the recent terrorist attacks. Mr. Schundler, speaking at retirement communities in Ocean County, said that if elected, he would cut the school portion of elderly homeowners' property tax bills in half over three years. He said that would save 648,000 households an average of $1,226 each. The plan would replace three existing programs for elderly homeowners, according to Bill Guhl, Mr. Schundler's spokesman: the Homestead Rebate, which sends a $750 check to those who pay more than 5 percent of their income in property taxes; an annual property tax deduction of $250 for the elderly; and a credit toward income taxes of $50. Many people in retirement communities in Ocean County and other parts of New Jersey pay little in school taxes because there are few children in the local schools. That would suggest that some could stand to lose under Mr. Schundler's plan, because half of what they now pay in school taxes is less than what they receive under the Homestead Rebate and the other programs. But Mr. Guhl said the existing tax- cut programs would not be completely retired. "If you were in a situation where you would get more money from the Homestead Rebate and the other two programs, then you'd take the higher of the two," he said. Mr. Schundler said his plan would be phased in over three years, at a net cost of $414 million in addition to the $484 million that he said the three existing programs now cost the state. His plan is more generous than what Mr. McGreevey has proposed for elderly homeowners: an easing of the income and residency requirements for the state's property-tax freeze program. Mr. McGreevey introduced that idea in March, and said today that he was "glad to see Mr. Schundler join our effort to provide tax relief to New Jersey seniors." But he also asserted that Mr. Schundler's other ideas would only wind up driving up property taxes by billions of dollars. In any case, it is unclear how easily New Jersey will be able to afford any new tax cuts, especially given growing expectations that the state's economy, and government revenues, will suffer greatly in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center. Mr. Guhl acknowledged the possibility of a deepening recession, but he said that Mr. Schundler still believed that state revenues would continue to grow and that he would be able to find efficiencies in the state budget to pay for the new tax cut - which, in turn, would stimulate the economy by giving citizens more money to spend.
|
