June 2, 2005 Corzine says he would raise rebates for most
By Angela Delli Santi of AP
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
The presumed Democratic nominee for governor is planning to bring property-tax relief to all but the richest residents.
EAST WINDSOR, N.J. - U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine chose the home of a registered Republican to unveil a property-tax relief plan he says would preserve homeowners' rebates and increase the amount all but the wealthiest New Jerseyans get back.
Linda Harris, who, with her husband, Robert, owns the home where Corzine staged yesterday's news conference, said she liked the idea of getting a bigger rebate check to offset their $8,100 annual property-tax bill.
"If he can do it, I'm all for it," Harris said.
Corzine's plan would shift the property-tax burden from senior citizens on fixed incomes and low-income working families by giving them the biggest rebates: 10 percent more a year for four years.
That would boost the rebate for the average homeowner to more than $900 from the current $624. The increase would be even more dramatic for seniors and those making under $19,000 a year: They would get back $1,750 under Corzine's plan, up from $1,200. Those earning more than $200,000 a year would get back nothing under Corzine's plan.
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey's proposed $27.4 billion budget would reduce rebates for seniors and the disabled and suspend them for everybody else to help close a $4 billion budget gap. Higher-than-expected spring income-tax collections have revived discussions on how to save the popular rebate program.
Corzine's plan, which would cost an estimated $7.5 billion over four years, would be paid for through a variety of investment and cost-saving measures. Corzine said he would place economic development responsibilities in the governor's office while having an elected comptroller audit the budget for waste, consolidate purchasing, eliminate patronage jobs, and cut the state workforce through attrition.
Business executive Douglas Forrester, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for governor, immediately assailed Corzine's plan.
"Seven and a half billion dollars in new spending, coupled with the fact that he refuses to sign a 'no new tax' pledge," Forrester said. "That is a scary combination. New Jersey cannot afford that."
Forrester's "30-in-3" plan would return 30 percent of their property-tax payments to taxpayers in three years and would cost $2.7 billion, he says.
The other Republican front-runner, Bret Schundler, has built his campaign on a "Property Tax Revolution," a plan that entails constitutionally guaranteed tax relief funded by new caps on state and local spending.
Corzine also threw his support behind efforts to hold a constitutional convention on property taxes, sending letters urging state senators to support putting the question to voters on the November ballot.
The convention would involve a gathering of elected delegates whose recommendations for changes to the state constitution would then go before voters.
The Assembly has passed the measure, and the Senate must do so before recessing at the end of June for it to get on the ballot.
