2-tiered solution brings tears to our eyes.

Save Our Homes and Our Future
A recent report by the Newark Star Ledger once again reveals the inability of those proposing solutions to the property tax problem to think outside the box. See: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1146721898263090.xml&coll=1 The box they are in is the Property Tax. As far as they are concerned this box is the entire universe of tax possibilities, outside of which there is nothing. Put another way, the property tax is set in stone.

What is most discouraging is that the proposed solution to this anachronism of a tax was originally proposed in 1879. Yes, that is EIGHTTEEN seventy-nine, not 1979. So these people not only cannot think outside the box but they can only think in the past. What was is and will always be.

One of the reasons the property tax is so oppressive is that it has no relevance in this day and age. It is from a time when there was a direct correlation between how much property one owned and their ability to earn income. We were 90% agrarian at that time. If I owned 1,000 acres and you owned 10,000, you were taxed more because of your ability to earn more. More importantly, what you owned was directly tied to earning an income and your ability to pay taxes.

Today, the home we own has nothing to do with our ability to pay taxes. You can live in an area or on a street with homes of similar value. Yet the people living in them might have incomes (retirement, unemployment, disability, nothing at all, or only savings) ranging from $10,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet they are taxed at virtually the same amount. Their ability to pay is not remotely related to the value of the home they own.

What is ever more astounding is that even though NJ recognizes that a couple ought not to be taxed on the first $25,000 of income these people think the property tax ought to be assessed and collected from the same people. Think about it. That same couple who are rightly not charged a single penny of tax on their $25,000 of income could be saddled with paying $3,000 (12%), $4,000 (16%) $6,000 (24%) or even more of that $25,000 in property taxes because no account is taken of their ability to pay.

I think the problem with these people who, tragically, are in positions of power and influence when it comes to solving this problem are out of touch. That is, they make plenty of money and so do not have to worry about losing their homes to a tax auction or having to leave family and friends of a lifetime because they cannot afford to live or retire in New Jersey. They just do not relate to the average person.

I am trying to be charitable in making the above charge. The only other reason is disparaging in its implications. It would be that they know they are getting a tax break at the expense of the little guy and they do not care. In fact, they know that they will have to pay their fair share if the property tax is eliminated. Since they have the power, they will not allow that to happen.

This 2-tiered solution proposed by the Regional Plan Association and supported by many state lawmakers is a cynical attempt to further entrench the property. It is a non-solution which if implemented will only continue the oppression of the little guys, driving they out of their homes and N.J. It must not be allowed on the table.

Is anybody listening?