LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Feb. 6
Tax-reform plans won’t relieve burden
To the editor:
Princeton officials are correct to express skepticism towards the state’s attempt at real-estate tax reform. However, such protests by local politicians are laughable.
There is nothing from Trenton’s plan that will ultimately relieve taxpayers of their financial burdens to their governments. The tax-reform plan demands no spending cuts. It merely places a cap on spending increases. Yet local administrators complain as though these 4-percent caps on spending are real.
The 4-percent cap has exemptions for the very costs that are responsible for the financial mess New Jersey finds itself in - namely, entitlements to public employees. And the cap is further diluted by the referendum mechanism that allows voters to override such spending caps. Is there any doubt that the voters who have a personal stake in spending increases will outvote the remaining (and sadly apathetic) citizens who work in private industry (those citizens that ultimately pay for such budgets)?
Thus, skepticism is warranted towards this headline-grabbing but toothless plan from Trenton. Should Gov. Corzine lose revenue from one source, he will tax it from another source. And state revenues will dwindle as businesses and their employees move from this state to more fiscally responsible states.
Neal Phenes
Chandler Court
Plainsboro

