Are tax abatement deals for developers good or bad?
A new report by the New Jersey Policy Perspective, a non-profit public policy think tank based in Trenton, examines that question as it looks at flaws in New Jersey’s long-term tax abatement law and at Jersey City’s use of that law.
The 13-page report, “All That Glitters Isn’t Gold: Property Tax Abatements in Jersey City,” is written by Naomi Mueller Bressler of the NJPP and Carolyn Topp, a businesswoman based in “the metro New York area.” It outlines the shortcomings of tax abatements granted in Jersey City for development along the city’s waterfront (aka the “Gold Coast”).
The report found the state’s Long-Term Tax Exemption Law of 1991 – which allows New Jersey towns to grant property tax exemptions for redevelopment and new housing projects for as long as 30 years – creates a situation where owners of non-abated properties in Jersey City have to pay property taxes that are distributed between the city, county and school district, while abated properties are excluded from paying school taxes and only pay a fraction of county taxes.
Also, the report echoes what critics have long argued: that abatements may not be needed to entice developers to build on Jersey City’s waterfront anymore, since it has become such a desirable area.
According to documents obtained by the Jersey City Reporter, city officials are planning a rebuttal of the claims in the report as well as a PowerPoint presentation of the benefits of Jersey City’s abatement policy.
City spokesperson Jennifer Morrill said last week that a presentation is to be given this week to the City Council but did not offer specifics, saying it was still a “work in progress.” – Ricardo Kaulessar