Republican legislators are questioning the constitutionality of the Democrats’ plan for a 20 percent property tax credit, because it would be applied on a sliding scale — asking the majority to revise it to their liking or amend the constution.
Republicans claim a property tax relief bill that the Assembly approved 71-8 Monday is flawed be cause it would offer tax credits that vary based on a homeowner’s in come. That, they said, runs afoul of a provision in the state constitution that requires all property to be taxed based solely on its value, not on the income or personal characteristics of its owner.
The “uniformity clause,” they maintain, prevents policymakers from adjusting tax rates to discriminate against unpopular groups.
To clear up the problem, Republicans want Democrats to offer uniform levels of relief to all homeowners regardless of income — or to seek voter approval for a constitutional amendment specifically authorizing a graduated tax credit program.
The GOP plan, of course, has its own gradations (according to an AP story in The Record):
The Republican tax cut plan calls for amending the state constitution to guarantee the cut comes annually and giving a 30 percent cut for all households earning up to $200,000 and a 20 percent cut for all other households.
I’m not a huge fan of the tax credit program — it is nothing more than a Band-Aid — but it seems eminently fair to give the most relief to the people who need it most.
In any case, the GOP seems to be playing politics with this, playing to their economic base and offering a somewhat tepid version of the Democrats’ plan. It is, as Juan Melli on Blue Jersey called it yesterday, “blatant hypocrisy.”
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Hank Kalet 