Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Handlin
SYNOPSIS
Requires property tax bills to contain eligibility information on State tax relief programs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning notice of State property tax relief programs and amending R.S.54:4-65.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.54:4-65 is amended to read as follows:
54:4-65. a. The Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall approve the form and content of property tax bills.
b. (1) Each tax bill shall have printed thereon a brief tabulation showing the distribution of the amount raised by taxation in the taxing district, in such form as to disclose the rate per $100.00 of assessed valuation or the number of cents in each dollar paid by the taxpayer which is to be used for the payment of State school taxes, other State taxes, county taxes, local school expenditures, free public library taxes, and other local expenditures. The last named item may be further subdivided so as to show the amount for each of the several departments of the municipal government. In lieu of printing such information on the tax bill, any municipality may furnish the tabulation required hereunder and any other pertinent information in a statement accompanying the mailing or delivery of the tax bill.
(2) When a parcel receives a homestead property tax credit pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-37 et al.), the amount of the credit shall be included with the tax calculation as a reduction in the total tax calculation for the year. One-half of the amount of the credit shall be deducted from taxes otherwise due for the third installment and the remaining one-half shall be deducted from taxes otherwise due for the fourth installment.
(3) There shall be included on or with the tax bill the delinquent interest rate or rates to be charged and any end of year penalty that is authorized and any other such information that the director may require from time to time.
c. The tax bill shall also include a statement about the availability of, on the Internet website of the Department of Community Affairs, the amounts of State aid and assistance received by the municipality, school districts, special districts, free public libraries, county governments that offset property taxes that are otherwise due on each parcel, along with a listing of, and eligibility requirements for, the various State property tax relief programs. The tax bill shall also include the link to the Internet website of the Department of Community Affairs containing this information. The director shall cause the amounts of said State aid and assistance that shall serve as the basis for the calculation for each parcel to be displayed on the Internet website of the Department of Community Affairs. The director shall set standards for the display of the statement on the tax bill. The director shall provide each tax collector with inserts containing a listing of, and eligibility requirements for, the various State property tax relief programs in effect for the tax year.
d. The tax bill or form mailed with the tax bill shall include thereon the date upon which each installment is due.
e. If a property tax bill includes in its calculation a homestead property tax credit, the bill shall, in addition to the calculation showing taxes due, either display a notice concerning the credit on the face of the property tax bill or with a separate notice, with the content and wording as the director provides.
(cf: P.L.2015, c.95, s.31)
2. This act shall take effect immediately but shall apply only to tax bills printed 45 days or more after its effective date.
STATEMENT
This bill would require that tax bills, or the forms mailed with tax bills, include information on listing the eligibility requirements for the various State property tax relief programs. The Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs would be responsible for compiling the list and providing each tax collector with inserts containing a listing of, and eligibility requirements for, the various State property tax relief programs in effect for the tax year.
The statute being amended by this bill already requires that certain information be included with tax bills, along with links to information on the Internet website of the Department of Community Affairs. The sponsor believes that the information required by this legislation could be added to the tax bill without additional cost to municipalities by inclusion on existing forms or through inserts printed and distributed to the tax collectors by the director, thereby avoiding the prohibition against unfunded State mandates in Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 of the State Constitution.