Senate Republican leader Anthony M. Bucco said Governor Murphy’s scheduled delivery of ANCHOR Property Tax Relief payments were designed to be political.

Sen. Anthony M. Bucco said Governor Murphy’s scheduled delivery of ANCHOR Property Tax Relief payments were designed to be political. (SenateNJ.com)

“I fully support making New Jersey more affordable for homeowners, but the timing of the ANCHOR relief payments from the Murphy administration is nothing more than a gimmick. Homeowners want and need a permanent solution to our crippling highest in the nation property taxes, not a one-time rebate delivered in the weeks leading up to an election,” said Bucco (R-25). “Republicans offered a comprehensive long-term solution in this last budget cycle that would have provided a real solution for lasting property tax relief to New Jersey. Democrats rejected our proposal. As a result, money that could have been used to lower property taxes is being devalued by inflation while residents are forced to settle for breadcrumbs from the Murphy administration.”

The Murphy administration announced yesterday that the first round of ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Payments were being deposited. New Jerseyans who did not sign up for direct deposit will receive a paper check in the mail by November 1st – six days prior to the general election.

New Jersey currently has the highest property taxes in the nation.

“Governor Murphy and Treasury could have delivered these payments over the summer, but instead waited until it was politically convenient for Democrats,” Bucco added. “Homeowners deserve more than temporary tax relief offered at the whim of the Governor, they need permanent solutions to New Jersey’s property tax system that helps lower New Jersey’s ever rising cost of living.”