Homeowners in New Jersey are eligible for a partial rebate of property taxes paid. If you owned and lived in a house in New Jersey on October 1, 2007, you are eligible. Renters like me are eligible for a separate rebate up to $860.

If you haven’t received an application, you should shortly. The state suggests calling the Homestead Rebate Hotline if you haven’t received this application by July 23.

Tenants will not receive an application. The rebate form for tenants was included in the 2007 income tax package. I checked my state tax return, which I filed via TaxAct, and my rebate application was submitted with my income tax form. As I am neither disabled nor over the age of 65, the maximum amount I can receive for this rebate is $80, a 6.7% increase over last year.

The calculation for the homeowners’ rebate is different. For those under 65 and not disabled, you will receive either 20% of the first $10,000 of property taxes paid (if your income is below $100,000), 10% of your total property taxes paid (if your income is between $100,000 and $150,000), or nothing.

To receive your rebate, you muat file your application by August 15.

2007 Homestead Rebate Program

Here is the third part of the list of gas stations in New Jersey that are ripping off customers. For more information, see this first part and the second part.

The first part also contains a map of every gas station fined for violation of a variety of regulations.

This list begins with Morris County. Read the rest of this article »

Here is the second part of the list of gas stations in New Jersey that are ripping off customers. For more information, see this first part. The first part also contains a map of every gas station fined for violation of a variety of regulations.

This list begins with Essex County. Read the rest of this article »

If you buy gasoline in New Jersey, you may want to avoid the gas stations listed in this article. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has fined 350 stations out of 1,025 total inspected during a recent three-day operation across the entire state. Most of the stations fined were guilty of innacurate pump calibration, providing customers with less gasoline (fewer gallons) than appear on the pump’s display.

Other violations include inaccurate octane ratings, missing registration, prices posted incorrectly and multiple price changes in a 24-hour period.

Here is a map of the stations cited and fined, and you can find out the violations for which each station on the map is guilty by zooming in and clicking on the marker. For a list of all stations in violation, read this full post.

If you believe you see a violation in New Jersey, call the Division of Consumer Affairs at (732) 815-4840.

Continue reading for the full list of gas stations in violation, grouped by county. Read the rest of this article »

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine announced yesterday a plan to raise money in New Jersey to issue bonds in a public benefits corporation that will manage the toll roads. The bonds will be paid back through a series of toll increases. Starting in 2010 and every four years until 2022, toll prices on the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Atlantic City Expressway will increase by a factor of 50% plus inflation. Route 440 will also become a toll highway for a stretch.

Right now, I pay a total of $0.90 in toll charge for my daily commute. I can’t find any data on historic toll rates, but it’s my understanding that toll increases have lagged far behind the governmentally-reported inflation numbers (for what they are worth). A 50% increase in 2010, assuming I work and live in the same locations, would bring my daily fee to $1.35 or about an additional $115 per year in today’s dollars over this year’s toll expenditure. All things considered, that’s not too steep of an increase in dollars.

In 2014, the toll rate for the same round-trip commute will be about $2.00 or about a $275 increase in today’s dollars. Now it’s starting to sound a bit hairy. In 2018, the price would increase to $3.00 in today’s dollars and in 2022, a daily commute between the two interchanges I now use will be $4.50 in today’s dollars.

Today, if you pay cash rather than use E-Zpass and commute from the southernmost exit to the northernmost (and back), you would be spending a total of $12.90 each day. In 2022, a round trip tour of the full span of the New Jersey Turnpike will cost $65 in today’s dollars. But by then, you may be able to buy only one gallon of gasoline for $65.

The state intends to raise money quickly through the bonds issued in this new corporation, but that’s not the only piece. Corzine mentioned in his State of the State address a four-point plan for fixing the state’s budget:

• Freeze spending by the government.
• Limit future spending to only what can be provided by revenue.
• Monetize the toll highways.

• Require voter authorization before borrowing more money.

  This plan was devised as an alternative to raising state income tax, sales tax, or gasoline tax. Will it work? Most people I’ve talked to so far don’t think this plan is too sound. The future toll hikes inequitably burden commuters and shore-vacationers, which includes out-of-state visitors. Some other options for balancing the budget while avoiding unpopular taxation are for the government to cut spending and/or consolidate school districts. (It has actually been shown that district consolidation in practice increases expenses despite theories about economy of scale. I would support whichever option improves the quality of education for the most amount of students.)

  Corzine challenged critics to present their own plan. Now it’s your chance to be Governor of New Jersey—everyone’s dream job. What would you do? Some details would be helpful; “cut spending” is not a complete suggestion.

  Corzine unveils plan for state finances [The Star-Ledger]