|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
|
 |
Jersey seniors feeling the squeeze on property tax
rebates BY
JOE DONOHUE
Jerry
Rota, an 82-year-old retired mailman from Union Township, was dumbfounded
when he received his $238.77 property tax rebate check on Thursday. He was
expecting nearly twice that amount. But
the state's popular program to refund property tax hikes borne by senior
citizens had become a victim of the budget ax. The state will save about
$16 million with the changes in the program, according to State Treasurer
John McCormac.
If
Rota's property taxes rise again next year, he will still receive a check
for $238.77. In
addition, the program is no longer accepting applications from property
owners who have turned 65 -- the age required to qualify. A
notice of the changes accompanies checks that are now being mailed out. Rota,
however, didn't notice the fine print. He found out about revisions when
he called his local tax office. "I can't understand how they can do
this so quietly," said Rota. "I thought it was just a mistake.
It's just not right." Kathy
Ellis, the governor's spokeswoman, said, "We did our best to inform
recipients about changes in the program. We posted them on the Web. And we
did include the information in the letter that accompanied the
checks." She urged those with questions or concerns to contact
Treasury Department officials. Under
the program, single elderly or disabled people who earn less than $39,475,
and married couples who earn less than $48,404, may qualify for the state
property tax subsidies, but only if they received checks last year. One
of those who had expected to qualify this year was Selma Cohen of
Bridgewater Township. The property taxes on her townhouse are $3,770.
"I'm being frozen out entirely after I sent in my application,"
she said. "It's not like it's a big deal, but every little bit
helps." She is sending letters to the governor and lawmakers
protesting that it is discriminatory to exclude some people who otherwise
would qualify for the benefit. Sen.
Leonard Connors (R-Ocean) was one of the co-sponsors of the property tax
rebate program in 1998. He said the administration's move to scale back
the program is "one of the reasons I didn't vote for the budget. It's
absolutely terrible." He has received a few calls from constituents
this week, but expects more once all the checks are out. One
reason why the Treasury Department fought to scale back the program was
because its costs would have grown from $23 million now to at least $340
million a year within the decade, according to an estimate by New Jersey
Policy Perspective, a think tank in West Trenton. Said
Ellis, the governor's spokeswoman: "The cap to the program was a
direct consequence of the $5 billion deficit that we struggled
successfully to close." Doug
Johnston, a lobbyist for the AARP, said his group discussed the changes
with the governor this spring before the budget's adoption. He
acknowledged that the group's top priority was preventing proposed cuts to
a state-subsidized prescription drug program. Those cuts were abandoned by
the administration. As
for the changes in the property tax program, "Quite frankly we didn't
think it was an issue we could win this year because the budget was in
such bad shape. But we will try to get it restored next year."
Johnston said the AARP also hopes to pressure the Legislature into having
a special session next year to address the property tax issue in a
comprehensive way. Information
about the changes can be found on the Department of Treasury's Web site at
http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation, or by calling 1-800-882-6597 or
(609) 826-4400. Letters should be addressed to N.J. Division of Taxation,
PO Box 900, Trenton, N.J. 08695-0900. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
