The NJ Tax Blog

As a reminder to everyone in New Jersey who recently received a 2007 omitted-added assessment bill and/or a 2008 added assessment bill, the deadline to appeal such assessment is THIS MONDAY, December 1, 2008.

This means that the County Board of Taxation must actually RECEIVE your filed petition contesting the 2007 omitted-added assessment or 2008 added assessment by Monday. Merely mailing your petition by Monday is insufficient. If the County Board does not receive your petition by December 1, 2008, the County Board will almost for certain not hear your appeal and you will be jurisdictionally barred from appealing your assessment to the Tax Court of New Jersey.

If you are unsure whether or not you have a claim, I strongly suggest that you file your appeal now in order to preserve your rights. After you file your petition, you could always investigate your rights further by contacting a Property Tax Attorney who specializes in this area of law.

Timothy A. Boulos, Esq., a fellow real estate tax appeal attorney, died this morning. He was twenty-six years old. Tim graduated from the Widener University School of Law in 2007 and from Rutgers University in 2004. Tim was a close colleague to many in the New Jersey Bar and will be greatly missed.

The Record (www.northjersey.com) reported today that Verizon Wireless plans to stop paying millions of dollars in property taxes to local New Jersey municipalities by 2011. Currently, Verizon is paying these taxes pusuant to a 1940 statute that requires the predominant “telecomunications carrier” in a municipality to pay taxes on personal property. However, due to the fact that several cable companies are now offering telephone services in addition to traditional cable services, Verizon is no longer the dominant “telecomunications carrier” in several New Jersey municipalities. As a result, Verizon is now arguing that it is no longer required to pay property taxes on its personal property. To read the full article that addresses this issue in more detail, please click the words Property Tax.

Due to the faltering economy, Governor Corzine indicated that he may cut New Jersey’s Property Tax Rebate program even further next year. Yesterday, at a news conference after dedicating New Jersey’s World War II Memorial, Governor Corzine stated: "We're hopeful that we will be able to sustain it [the Property Tax Rebate Program], but I can't promise anything in this environment…" To read more, please click the words Property Tax.

The New Jersey Division of Taxation just released the New Jersey State Tax News for Fall 2008. This eleven page publication covers issues ranging from recent Tax Court opinions, to current legislative laws being considered, to small business workshops. To read the full publication, please click the words Property Tax.