Why does the State of New Jersey have the highest property taxes in the country?
Behind the manicured shrubs and stately single-family homes lining the streets of Garden City, N.Y., a 21,672-person town about 20 miles east of Manhattan, lies a harsh truth–high property taxes. Nassau County homeowners pay a median $8,153–or 8% of their yearly income–to live there. It’s the fourth-highest rate in the country. Those living in Little Falls, N.J., should be so lucky. Property taxes in Passaic County, which includes Little Falls, eat up 8.5% of homeowner median incomes. In fact, Passaic property taxes are the highest in the nation. Rounding out the top five: Union County, N.J. (8.1%), Essex County, N.J. (8.1%), and Westchester County, N.Y. (7.8%). Besides boasting the nation’s five highest property tax rates, all are New York City bedroom communities. This is not a coincidence. Mid-Atlantic and New England states have traditionally been most reliant on property taxes because they have strong, local governments that are able to levy property taxes to pay for their inde
Because state government can’t generate enough revenue from other local taxes. I think this article better explains it: http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/23/taxes-homes-property-forbeslife-cx_mw_0123realestate.html Besides boasting the nation’s five highest property tax rates, all are New York City bedroom communities. This is not a coincidence. Mid-Atlantic and New England states have traditionally been most reliant on property taxes because they have strong, local governments that are able to levy property taxes to pay for their independent municipal needs. “The key in New Jersey especially,” says David Brunori, a professor of public policy at George Washington University, “is that local governments don’t have a lot of options in terms of revenues. There is no local-option sales tax, no local-option income tax.” Further north, in Cheshire County, N.H., homeowners at the
Besides boasting the nation’s five highest property tax rates, all are New York City bedroom communities. This is not a coincidence. Mid-Atlantic and New England states have traditionally been most reliant on property taxes because they have strong, local governments that are able to levy property taxes to pay for their independent municipal needs. “The key in New Jersey especially,” says David Brunori, a professor of public policy at George Washington University, “is that local governments don’t have a lot of options in terms of revenues. There is no local-option sales tax, no local-option income tax.” Further north, in Cheshire County, N.H., homeowners at the $62,577 median level fork over 6.4% of their earnings in taxes. Partly to blame is the state’s lack of a broad-based tax. Instead, it relies on property and business taxes to fill its coffers. Counties in Southern states like Louisiana and Alabama boast low rates–below 1%–in part because those states have local governments wit