Corzine’s Change of Heart

On Thursday Governor Corzine made it official. He will scrap the budget proposal that would eliminate the property tax deduction on state income taxes for all but senior citizens. Corzine said he got too much flak from the public as he made his way around the state. On Tuesday at a home in Eatontown, he even mentioned being heckled over the issue as he marched in a St. Paddy’s Day parade.
The property tax deduction only averages about $300 for NJ taxpayers. While the property tax rebate, which still stands to be eliminated or scaled back for most residents has recently averaged double that amount. But the deduction, it turns out, is something of a sacred cow. On the other hand, most people have not grown accustomed to property tax rebates. They realize it’s something extra – a temporary way to help curb spiraling property taxes in NJ. Furthermore, people may have mistakenly thought Corzine was eliminating the property tax deductation on the federal as well as state income tax–a much bigger deal.
Corzine claims the reversal is a natural response to feedback he solicited (even off his facebook page). But his critics, specifically the Republican State Committee Chairman, Tom Wilson, says it’s an election year gimmick. Will the move make Corzine look weak and cost him politically? My take is probably not as much as having gone ahead with the dreaded deduction destruction.