A funny thing happened on the way to the gold dome.

Assembly Majority leader and former head of the Assembly Budget committee Lou Greenwald had a revelation, and that is that property taxes in New Jersey are the highest in the nation

One wonders, how long did it take him to come to this conclusion.

Much like President Obama, who’s position evolved on same sex marriage, the Assembly Majority Leader’s position must have had the same kind of evolution.

Actually he said this during an April 1 interview on NJTV's "On The Record" that the Garden State has "the highest property taxes in the nation and not by a little. They are the highest property taxes in the nation, more than double the national average."

What’s funny about that is that he’s been in the Assembly for "God knows" how long, and he’s been part of the problem.

In fact, you may remember he had the nerve to say something to the effect that “we need to have the courage to spend”…..

Ok, Let’s all agree that property taxes are the highest in the nation, and that we all need tax relief in this state.

We’ve had 3 competing plans on the table: One put out there by the Governor which would give taxpayers an across the board 10 percent tax cut on income….something he proposed back in January—
phased in over three years — and restoration of the earned-income tax credit that would benefit the state's poorest citizens.

In March, the Senate and Assembly Democratic leaders yesterday unveiled competing plans to provide property tax credits to those earning up to $250,000.

Senate President Sweeney unveiled a plan to provide a 10 percent tax credit for certain households based on their property tax bills.

You earn over a quarter million, no credit for you….you don’t need it, you make too much money anyway.

That credit would be applied to your income taxes…

But the way the Senate President explained it was that his plan is a property tax cut. The Governor’s is an income tax cut."

The Assembly plan laid out by Greenwald, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver is the more aggressive proposal, promising a property tax credit of up to $2,000.

The Assembly plan provides a maximum credit of $1,000 in 2012, and finally to the full $2,000 on up to $10,000 in property taxes in 2015.

To fund the property tax credit program, the Assembly's plan would increase income taxes on the 16,000 New Jerseyans earning more than $1 million beginning in Fiscal Year 2013.

The top rate would increase from the current 8.97 percent to the 10.75 level imposed by Corzine as a temporary surcharge…which as you remember the Democrats let sunset just before Governor Christie took office.

Given all of this… which is the more attractive plan to you?

Being given a tax credit against your property taxes which would be applied to your income taxes…up to an income of a quarter million a year….or a straight 10 percent income tax cut…

Posse Poll:

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