New Jersey apparently believes that real estate taxes are the best way to fund expenses incurred for the common good, such as police, fire, roads and education. With this premise comes the presumption of “tax fairness.” But is New Jersey’s property tax fair? I don’t think so.For example, the average current market value of properties in Spring Lake is $1,714,050, while the average tax assessment is $11,875. In Keansburg the average property value is $133,051; the average tax is $4,865. In Ocean County, Mantoloking has an average property value of $2,470,575 with an average tax of $16,582. In South Toms River, the average value is $164,874 with an average tax of $4,604. Fair? Hardly.The bulk of our real estate taxes (50-60 percent) are used to fund public schools, of which we have among the best in the country. This is a great investment for our future and should be maintained.But the fact New Jersey has 678 school districts cannot be ignored any longer in diagnosing our property tax dilemma. Since school taxes are basically assessed on a municipal/county basis, the burden put on any given taxpayer depends largely upon the socioeconomic makeup of the town he or she lives in…. Read full this story
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