New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation. If we are ever going to solve the problem, we need someone with experience to get it done. s the highest property taxes in the nation. If we are ever going to solve the problem, we need someone with experience to get it done. While taxes are rising in virtually every municipality in New Jersey, by excersing fiscal responsibilty and make tough decisions, Ravi Bhalla successfully helped decrease property taxes in Hoboken by over 10% from the 2010 fiscal year budget.
To tackle future property tax hikes, we need to provide municipalities with different sources of revenue. Currently, the only way for a city to pay for services is to charge a property tax, which is why 98% of local revenues come from property taxes -- compared to only 72% nationally.
This means that when the housing market collapses or when the economy takes a dive, New Jersey has budget problems. We can help insulate ourselves from these drastic increases the same way investors insulate themselves from risk -- by diversifying our revenue. If a municipality were empowered to charge a miniscule sales tax, it would drastically reduce property taxes while increasing the quality of city services