Thompson: Seniors, Disabled Getting Much Needed Property Tax Relief, But Corzine Leaves 1.2 Million Middle Class Families Empty-Handed

Trenton, NJ – July 16, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — In response to an announcement today by Governor Jon Corzine that property tax rebate checks are now being mailed to 129,000 senior and disabled homeowners, Assemblyman Sam Thompson said he’s pleased that segment of the state’s population is continuing to receive the same rebates as last year, but added, “It’s a sad day for the 1.2 million middle class homeowners who are having their rebates taken away by the governor and the Democrat-controlled Legislature.”

Thompson said taxpayers will hear plenty of election-year rhetoric from Governor Corzine and his Democrat colleagues about how they preserved property tax relief for these two groups of residents, but added, “You won’t hear them talk about the vast number of desperate middle class families they left twisting in the wind.

“Of course, we’re happy for senior citizens and homeowners with disabilities who will soon be receiving much needed property tax relief,” stated Thompson, R-Monmouth and Middlesex. “But what about the more than one million struggling homeowners Governor Corzine has left out in the cold? Not only did he take away their rebate check, but he replaced it with $1.7 billion in new and increased taxes and fees. There’ll be no Christmas in July for these families.”

Governor Corzine’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget eliminated property tax rebates for non-senior, non-disabled homeowners with incomes over $75,000. Families earning between $50,000 and $75,000 will receive reduced rebates.

Thompson said Governor Corzine and Democrats need to be held accountable for promised property tax rebates they said would be “sustainable” and “permanent” when they increased the state sales tax in 2006 to supposedly to fund the rebate program.

“They sabotaged property tax relief by refusing to curtail excessive state spending, eliminate waste or manage the taxpayers’ money wisely,” noted Thompson. “Now they’re making homeowners bail them out to save them from their own ineptitude. It’s a price our middle class cannot afford to pay.”