Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Rooney, Wirths and Space
SYNOPSIS
Permits municipalities to authorize property tax reward programs; validates actions of municipalities that have created them.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act permitting and validating municipal property tax reward programs, supplementing Title 40 of the Revised Statutes, and amending R.S.54:4-65.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. As used in this section:
Annual rebate means the annual reimbursement of all rewards earned by a participating customer in a property tax reward program between May 1 and April 30.
Operator means a private entity designated by a municipality to operate a property tax reward program.
Participating business means a business, located within a municipality that has established a property tax reward program, which business has agreed to provide rewards to participating customers based on purchases of goods or services by those participating customers.
Participating customer means a municipal resident, a municipal employee, a person who is employed in the municipality, or a resident of another municipality, who has registered with the operator of a property tax reward program to earn rewards under the program through the purchase of goods or services from participating businesses.
Reward means the percentage of a total purchase price earned by a participating customer when that customer makes a purchase at a participating business.
b. The governing body of a municipality, by resolution, may authorize the creation, and the operation in the municipality, of a property tax reward program to provide annual rebates to participating customers who purchase goods or services from participating businesses located in the municipality. The municipality shall designate a private entity to serve as operator of the property tax reward program. The operator shall solicit participation in the program from businesses located in the municipality. Participation in the property tax reward program by businesses located in the municipality shall be voluntary. Each participating business shall determine, and shall inform the program operator of, the amount of the reward to be provided to participating customers.
c. The operator shall offer a reward card to municipal residents, municipal employees, persons who are employed in the municipality, and, upon request, to residents of other municipalities. A property tax reward program created pursuant to this section shall not charge a fee for participation in the program to any participating customer. The recipient of a reward card may become a participating customer by registering with the program operator to participate in the program. A participating customer shall present a reward card at a participating business when making a purchase of goods or services in order to earn a reward for that purchase from that participating business. The program operator shall, in writing, notify participating customers of the businesses participating in the program, and the percentage of the reward to be provided by each participating business. The operator shall also maintain this information on a website.
d. A participating business shall pay the amount of the rewards earned by participating customers to the operator, plus a separate administrative fee per transaction to the operator. The amount of the annual rebate earned by a participating customer shall equal the total amount of all rewards earned by that participating customer between May 1st and April 30th of the following year.
e. No later than June 1st annually, the operator shall provide the municipal tax collector with a list of program participants who are property owners and the dollar amount of the annual rebate earned by each property owner between May 1st and April 30th; and shall also transfer to the municipal tax collector the total dollar value of all annual rebates earned by those property owners between May 1st and April 30th. The tax collector shall note on the property tax bill of each participating customer the amount of the annual rebate earned and paid to the tax collector, and shall subtract that amount from the total amount of property taxes due and payable on the property for the tax year.
No later than June 1st annually, the operator shall issue to each participating customer who is not a property owner within the municipality a rebate check for the amount of the annual rebate earned by the participating customer between May 1st and April 30th.
f. All actions taken by the governing body of a municipality prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), to authorize the creation and operation of a property tax reward program in the municipality, are hereby ratified and affirmed as valid acts of the municipality.
2. 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. (1) 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, free public library taxes, 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.
(2) When a parcel receives a homestead property tax credit pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-37 et al.), the amount of the credit shall be included with the tax calculation as a reduction in the total tax calculation for the year. One-half of the amount of the credit shall be deducted from taxes otherwise due for the third installment and the remaining one-half shall be deducted from taxes otherwise due for the fourth installment.
(3) There shall be included on or with the tax bill the delinquent interest rate or rates to be charged and any end of year penalty that is authorized and any other such information that the director may require from time to time.
(4) In municipalities wherein a property tax reward program is operational, there shall be included on or with the tax bill the amount of the property tax reward as a credit against property taxes due and payable by a property owner who participates in the program. The property tax reward program shall be identified on the tax bill as the source of the property tax credit.
c. The tax bill shall also include a statement about the availability, on the Internet website of the Department of Community Affairs, of the amount