TRENTON, N.J. - Two million New Jersey property taxpayers and renters will get a tax break worth up to $1,500 under a deal Gov.
Phil Murphy and fellow Democrats in the Legislature unveiled Wednesday.The $2 billion program comes thanks to flush state coffers and amounts to lowering the roughly $9,300 average property tax bill for many to $7,800, a level not seen in more than a decade, Murphy said.Murphy, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Nicholas Scutari spoke alongside one another in South Brunswick and said part of their deal includes an agreement to continue the program in the future, meaning it won't offer relief for only a single year.
It's unclear for how long the program would continue.Record-breaking inflation amid news of climbing interest rates factored heavily into the decision to address property taxes, which Murphy first proposed early this year."We all know that property taxes put pressure on our middle class and working families on a good day, but the pressure they are facing now during a time of hyper global inflation is even greater," Murphy said.The agreement has grown to twice the size of the initial proposal Murphy put forward in March.Under the deal announced Wednesday, 870,000 families that make up to $150,000 would get "direct relief" of $1,500; those earning from $150,000 to $250,000 will get $1,000 in relief, and for the first time ever, according to Murphy, renters will also get assistance.
Those making up to $150,000 will get $450 in assistance.Murphy's earlier proposal had a $900 million price tag for the state budget, compared with $2 billion for the plan announced Wednesday.