For Immediate Release:
January 27, 2009
NJ REALTORS® POLL REVEALS THE PUBLIC WANTS LAWMAKERS TO FOCUS ON REDUCING TAXES
(Edison, NJ) A poll released today by the
New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®)
Governmental Research Foundation (GRF),
reveals that 40.2 percent of people think
reducing taxes and government fees is the
most important issue government leaders
should work on in the next two years. In
addition, a significant number of people (34
percent) believe improving the economy and
attracting more jobs to the state is the
most important issue facing New Jersey.
Recently, NJAR® GRF commissioned a poll to
get a sense of the public's opinion on
critical issues such as taxes, affordable
housing and transportation. The poll of 814
randomly selected registered New Jersey
voters found people to be focused on the
economy and fiscal matters.
The poll found that 52.6 percent of people
believe the state is on the wrong track,
while only 32.5 percent believe it is headed
in the right direction. Nearly 60 percent of
people believe the state sales tax to be
fair, while 53.9 percent said that state
income taxes were too high. Nearly 90
percent of those polled found property taxes
in New Jersey to be too high. When asked
about the best way to reduce property taxes,
36.3 percent favor consolidation of
government services, 26.8 percent favor
changing the way schools are funded, 12.8
percent favor reforming the state pension
system, and 12.3 percent favor reducing
government services.
"It comes as no surprise that right now
people are extremely tuned into the
economy," said NJAR® Executive Vice
President Jarrod Grasso. "The survey showed
that the public remains very concerned about
skyrocketing property taxes. It also
confirmed what we as REALTORS® already know,
a vibrant real estate industry supported by
equitable tax policies is the key to a
healthy and stable economy. The vast
majority (95.5 percent) of people believe
that the real estate industry and housing
market are important to New Jersey's overall
economy."
The poll also found that 51 percent of
people deem the best way to stimulate the
state's housing market is to reduce real
estate related taxes and fees. A
considerable number (47.4 percent) of
residents support a proposal to eliminate
state realty transfer fees. The survey
revealed that 86 percent oppose the idea of
imposing a local realty transfer fee. In
addition, 67 percent oppose the concept of
enacting a seasonal rental tax.
"While Governor Corzine and the Legislature
took action in recent months to stimulate
the state's lagging economy, more focus
needs to be put on revitalizing New Jersey's
real estate industry," added Grasso. "This
poll clearly indicates that the public is
supportive of taking steps to do just that,
including rolling back the recent increases
to the realty transfer fee."
The survey revealed the public's opinion on
several other critical issues. It showed
that 67.4 percent of people oppose raising
the gas tax to pay for expanding and
improving the state's transportation
infrastructure. The poll also found New
Jerseyans prefer (54 percent) creating
conditions that give incentives to builders
to construct affordable housing rather
making polices that require them to do so.
With regards to eminent domain, the public
opposed (76.7 percent) it being used for the
purpose of economic development.
"NJAR® is hopeful this poll will be useful
to lawmakers when making policy decisions.
It definitely should help them develop a
road map on how best to approach the
critical issues facing New Jersey,"
concluded Grasso.
The poll was conducted by Fallon Research &
Communications, Inc. For more data,
including a webinar with an in-depth
explanation of the poll results, visit
www.njar.com/about_njar/grf.
The New Jersey Association of REALTORS®,
with approximately 53,000 REALTOR® and
REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® members, is one of the
largest trade organizations in the state.
NJAR®'s membership is comprised of real
estate professionals who subscribe to a
strict Code of Ethics and are members of the
national and local REALTOR® organizations.
As the leading advocate for the real estate
industry and private property rights in New
Jersey, NJAR® is committed to protecting the
dream of homeownership. For more
information, please visit
www.njar.com.
The NJAR® Governmental Research
Foundation (GRF) was formed in 1999 to
research issues; to promote knowledge of,
conducted research, and assist in issue
research in the field of real estate and
related fields; and to inform and educate
the public on subjects of the public
interest and general concern pertaining to
real estate, land use and related topics.
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