NEW JERSEY – Democrats have not appointed a task force to implement tax relief for New Jersey’s senior population. The StayNJ task force was supposed to submit a report to the legislature on their progress over the past quarter on Sept. 1. Now, over two months later, there isn’t a task force in place.
“While Democrats send out politically timed ANCHOR checks, they are already proving StayNJ to be another election-year legislative gimmick,” said Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio (R-Warren). “They simply can’t be trusted when it comes to making New Jersey more affordable.”
Despite claiming 20 tax cuts, the Democrats have also raised taxes and fees over 60 times, costing New Jersey residents a net $16.7 billion, DiMaio said.
As a result, the cost of living has increased by nearly $23,000 under Gov. Phil Murphy, leading to a household with an income of $95,000 being considered low-income by the federal government, Dimaio said.
“All along the StayNJ plan was obviously never going to happen. If Democrats were serious about it they would be following their own law instead of ignoring it,” DiMaio said. “If they can’t even appoint a task force, then they can’t be trusted to provide property tax relief to New Jersey’s seniors.”
Section 18 of the law requires the governor, senate president and speaker to appoint one member each, and another member jointly. The bill says “The task force shall organize as expeditiously as practicable following the appointment of all its public members.” Quarterly reports are expected every three months.
The next report is due Dec. 1.
