SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and top Democratic lawmakers announced a plan to expand the ANCHOR Tax Relief Program, which would provide property tax relief to millions of homeowners and renters.
If passed on July 1 as part of the budget, the program will go from $900 million to $2 billion.
“This is $1,500 in direct property tax relief for the majority of middle-class and working homeowners this year,” Murphy said. “That’s real relief. It is a promise kept, and it is a meaningful reduction in property taxes.”
The rebates are tiered based on income. Families earning under $150,000 a year would get $1,500 in return; families earning between $150,000 and $250,000 would get $1,000.
There’s money for renters as well: $450 for those earning less than $150,000.
Murphy said this will bring the average tax bill down to 2014 levels, for some.
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The goal is to extend this program next year and years beyond that, but there wasn’t any financial commitment to match the statement from the governor’s office.
Republican Assemblyman John DiMaio said it’s not enough to combat New Jersey property taxes — the highest in the nation — that homeowners pay now. He wants a $2 billion permanent cut, not a rebate program.
Murphy’s proposal expands on his administration’s promise to replace the homestead rebate with the ANCHOR program as part of his 2023 budget proposal.
The governor’s office said more than 5.5 million people in New Jersey will benefit from the rebates.
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