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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Common ground in Trenton: Protect the wealthy

Recent news stories about the farmland assessment tax breaks state Sen. Ellen Karcher and Commerce Bank founder Vernon Hill have received by virtue of having sold more than $500 in produce - Christmas trees and cords of wood - have renewed calls for reform of the farmland assessment program.
Trouble is, the discussion already took place in the Legislature last year. One of the four special committees on property tax reform proposed a Constitutional amendment that would have increased the farmland assessment roll-back tax period to six years, from the current two, and imposed a "conveyance tax" on land sold to developers. But the Legislature, as it did with many of the 98 reforms proposed by the committees, rejected the idea. The committee studying farmland assessment saw no need to increase the $500 gross receipts threshold for qualifying for farmland assessment - an amount that has remained unchanged since the program was established more than 40 years ago.
Karcher blamed the failure to amend the farmland assessment program on the Republicans, specifically Sen. Leonard Lance of Hunterdon County. Fact is, the special committee recommended reform, and the Democratic-controlled Legislature rejected it. When it comes to protecting the interests of the rich, the party label doesn't matter.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I sure hope the cops find the guy that put a gun to the head of Ellen Karcher and forced her against her will to claim that her property is really a farm.

12:45 PM, October 18, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have a small garden in my backyard. If I sell a few tomatoes to my neighbor for, say, $500, do I qualify for the same taxbreaks that Ellen Karcher receives? If I decided to buy some cucumbers from my neighbor for, say, $500, does my neighbor also get the taxbreak?

I think we should be thanking Senator Ellen Karcher for solving the property tax problem here in New Jersey.

3:51 PM, October 18, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Despite your criticism of Senator Ellen Karcher, I fully expect that both you, Mr. Bergmann, as well as the editiorial board of the APP will endorse her re-election. That's both sad and rather telling.

5:29 PM, October 20, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The APP has endorsed her Republican opponent, Jennifer Beck. Of course. Haven't you noticed that the APP just about always endorses Republicans?

10:36 PM, October 22, 2007  

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