MARLBORO – The Township Council has passed a resolution supporting potential state legislation that could change the way property taxes are paid.
The council took the action on Jan. 18.
According to Marlboro officials, legislation proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy would allow taxpayers to make charitable contributions to their local government. Those contributions would serve the same purpose as property tax payments and fund municipal services.
Officials said it is not known if such a plan, if it was approved in the Legislature and signed into law by Murphy, will be approved by the federal Internal Revenue Service.
According to municipal officials, the shift to a charitable contribution to fund local services would have the effect of allowing taxpayers to regain tax advantages that were lost when President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 into law in December. The act capped the local property tax deduction in the federal tax code.
Mayor Jonathan Hornik said, “I asked the council to consider this resolution in regard to efforts being made on a state level where we can recharacterize (property tax) payments being made by our residents as charitable contributions.
“(This change would) help states like New Jersey and California which are severely affected by the new tax reform act … The center of the problem is that our state and local income tax payments cannot be deducted above $10,000.
“In a town like Marlboro, there are people whose taxes are above $10,000 and it has a real impact on our community. While I have no idea if this (charitable contribution plan) will be doable, ultimately it is going to be up to the IRS to determine if this is doable.
“We have to do everything we can to keep the cost of living as low as possible. By supporting this (plan), that is what we are supporting. By no means is this a guarantee, but it is a good try, to try and get back something that was taken from us,” Hornik said.
Council President Randi Marder, Vice President Jeff Cantor, Councilwoman Carol Mazzola and Councilman Scott Metzger voted to pass the resolution. Councilman Michael Scalea was absent. The mayor does not vote on council resolutions.
