30% Property Tax Credit For seniors and middle class households earning $200,000 or less 20% Property Tax Credit For all other homeowners
	A constitutionally-guaranteed, permanent property tax cut.
	Focus on spending restraint, not higher state taxes. Taxpayers have the final say.
	Savings shown on every property tax bill.

After watching their property tax bills rise an average of 35 percent over the past five years, New Jersey homeowners are demanding reform. Reforms can be instituted now, and permanent property tax relief can begin in 2007. All it will take is financial discipline and the will to end government waste, frivolous spending and fiscal abuses.

The Assembly Republican Blueprint for Property Tax Reform is a historic tax cut plan that is certain to deliver results.

This comprehensive initiative, developed by the Assembly Republican Policy Committee after consulting business leaders, advocacy groups and, most importantly concerned citizens,  would make long overdue structural reforms to New Jersey's property tax system.

It includes several constitutional amendments and more than 25 bills that would force state government to eliminate wasteful spending and make property tax relief a priority.

If enacted into law, the state would be under a constitutional mandate to assume 30 percent, or 20 percent, of the cost of your annual property tax bill. The exact amount will depend upon your household income. In order to ensure this property tax cut is not financed by raising taxes, this proposal also includes a constitutional amendment that requires a super-majority vote of the Legislature in order to raise taxes.

Unlike other programs the state has tried, homeowners will not have to wait for a rebate check. They will automatically receive a reduction in their property tax bill. This will eliminate the paperwork and bureaucracy inherent in rebate programs.

The revised 2007 version of the Assembly Republican Blueprint for Property Tax Reform reflects the state’s precarious financial condition after two more years of higher taxes, but even higher state spending.

Five consecutive years of Democrat mismanagement has resulted in a 35 percent rise in property taxes, $6 billion in new state taxes, $10 billion in increased spending and $37.5 billion in new debt. Their fiscal follies have made New Jersey a unaffordable place to live for many poor and middle income families. Thousands of them flee New Jersey each year for more tax-friendly environments.

Although the disastrous fiscal policies of Democrat legislative leaders have made the need for immediate and meaningful property tax relief imperative, they have strained the state’s resources to such an extreme, that modifications to the original 2005 version of the Assembly Republican Blueprint for Property Tax Reform had to be made to reflect dire economic realities.

The revisions, unveiled by Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce in December 2006, resulted in a plan that is affordable, sustainable and vastly superior to the one proposed by Democrats following last year’s special legislative session on property tax reform.

The major features of the revised plan include:

1. A permanent 30 percent property tax cut for all primary residences with a combined household income at or below $200,000.
2. A permanent 20 percent tax cut for all other households.
3. A guarantee that senior citizens on fixed incomes get a 30 percent or $2,000 property tax credit, whichever is higher.
4. A $5,000 cap on any property tax credit.
5. Doubling the size of renter rebates.
6. A constitutional cap limiting the growth of the state budget.

It is estimated this program would cost about $3 billion a year. At the outset, it would be funded by the $1.2 billion now earmarked for rebates and $2.2 billion in recurring savings identified by Republican members of the Assembly Budget Committee in 2006. It would be sustained by tighter controls on state spending, local efficiency options contained in the original 2005 blueprint, and cost-cutting measures recommended by Republican members of the joint legislative committees that examined property tax reform in 2006.

When the revisions to the blueprint were outlined by Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce, he noted that if the original the Assembly Republican plan had been adopted in 2005, a 20 percent property tax credit would have been in effect for 2006 and a 30 percent credit would have been applied in 2007. He said the revisions are very much in keeping with the spirit and goals of the 2005 blueprint.

Data provided by the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services confirms that the revised proposal would provide greater relief to all senior citizens and more relief to a greater number of middle class homeowners than the latest Democrat plan.

Under the Democrat property tax plan, all 513,282 senior citizen households would receive essentially the same level of property tax relief they do now. Under the Republican alternative, all 513,282 senior citizen households would receive higher levels of property tax relief.

Under the Democrat plan, only 810,464 non-senior households would receive a full 20 percent property tax credit (based on a $100,000 household income limit). Under the Republican alternative, 1,171,728 non-senior households would receive a 30 percent property tax credit (based on a $200,000 household income limit). An additional 110,439 non-senior households (those with an income exceeding $200,000) would get a 20 percent property tax credit, up to a maximum of $5,000.

We can provide real property tax relief now, without imposing any new state taxes or creating any new toll roads – another idea being considered by the Democrats. It just takes fiscal discipline.