ASSEMBLY, No. 334

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen PASCRELL and ARNONE

An Act concerning the form of property tax bills and amending R.S.54:4-65.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. R.S.54:4-65 is amended to read as follows:

    54:4-65. a. The Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall approve the form and content of property tax bills.

    b. Each tax bill shall have printed thereon a brief tabulation showing the distribution of the amount raised by taxation in the taxing district, in such form as to disclose the rate per $100.00 of assessed valuation or the number of cents in each dollar paid by the taxpayer which is to be used for the payment of State school taxes, other State taxes, county taxes, local school expenditures and other local expenditures. The last named item may be further subdivided so as to show the amount for each of the several departments of the municipal government. In lieu of printing such information on the tax bill, any municipality may furnish the tabulation required hereunder and any other pertinent information in a statement accompanying the mailing or delivery of the tax bill.

    c. The appropriate tax bill or form mailed with the tax bill shall also contain a statement reporting amounts of State aid and assistance received by the municipality, school districts, special districts and county governments used to offset local tax levies. The director shall provide each tax collector with a certification of the amounts of said State aid and assistance for inclusion in the tax bill.

    d. The tax bill or form mailed with the tax bill shall include thereon the date upon which each installment is due.

    e. The tax bill shall have printed thereon a bar graph showing the relative distribution of real property taxes paid by the taxpayer to the State, if applicable, and to the county and each taxing district, in dollar amounts, along with the telephone numbers of the county and each taxing district for taxpayer inquiries.

(cf: P.L.1994, c.32, s.2)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would change the design of property tax bills so that they would show the taxpayer, through the use of a bar graph, the relative distribution of real taxes paid by the taxpayer to the State, if applicable, and to the county and each taxing district, in dollar amounts. The bar graph bill form is currently used by several tax bill vendors in various municipalities throughout the State and provides taxpayers with an easy-to-read format that quickly explains where the tax dollars are going. The sponsor believes that the bar graph description format will satisfy those municipal officials who have been requesting that each local unit be required to send out its own tax bill. The sponsor also believes that since several vendors are currently producing these forms, there will be no increased cost to municipalities.

Changes design of real property tax bill to display tax distributions to local units in bar graph form.