Assemblyman Guy Gregg

GREGG SAYS ADOPTING RESPONSIBLE SPENDING CAPS MUST BE THE BASIS FOR ANY PROPERTY TAX REFORM

ANY SOLUTION THAT AVOIDS THE ISSUE OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING CAPS WILL FAIL IN THE LONG-RUNJuly 26, 2006
Assemblyman Guy Gregg/973-584-5422
Assembly Republican Office/609-292-5339

GREGG SAYS ADOPTING RESPONSIBLE SPENDING CAPS MUST BE THE BASIS FOR ANY PROPERTY TAX REFORM

ANY SOLUTION THAT AVOIDS THE ISSUE OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING CAPS WILL FAIL IN THE LONG-RUN

As the Legislature begins to prepare for a series of committee meetings this summer to discuss property tax reform, Assemblyman Guy Gregg today said that if those committees do not focus on the need for responsible state and local spending caps the process is doomed to fail.

"At the root of all our state’s problems with high taxes can be found the unwillingness of public officials to control government spending," said Gregg, R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon. "If we want to control property taxes in New Jersey, we first must find a way to control the explosive growth of state and local government spending."

Gregg is the sponsor of two constitutional amendments that would implement spending caps at the state and local level and use any excess revenue for property tax relief purposes. He said that this is right approach to controlling the growth of property tax bills.

"As long as the cost of government increases so too will the tax burden," Gregg said. "Any property tax relief program that does not seek to contain the growth of government will fail as taxes will continue to grow to meet the bureaucracy's insatiable demand for more revenue."

With the Senate and Assembly scheduled to begin a series of bicameral hearings on property tax reform, Gregg said that now is the time for the discussion to begin about what would constitute a responsible spending cap.

"These hearings must be focused on government spending and what would be a reasonable cap," Gregg said. "We should discuss how we cap government spending, and under what types of circumstances we would allow those caps to be exceeded. These should be the two biggest points of discussion in the coming weeks."

Gregg said he looks forward to the process and hopes to contribute his ideas those studying the issue.

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