Regarding Jacob Perry’s article on January 23rd re: Farmland tax break for millionaires: Over the years it has boggled my mind as to why 99% of the population of New Jersey has had no problem paying the real estate tax bill of the 1 percenters. If I want to get dark, I imagine the multi-millionaires going to their annual meeting of the “Lords of Jersey.” They’re in a fantastically large hall that wreaks of old money. They’re sitting in comfy leather chairs drinking ancient cognac. All of a sudden, someone raises a glass and makes a toast to the Jersey Serfs (that’s us) who have no problem paying them hundreds of millions of dollars annually. And with that the room erupts into uncontrollable laughter. One of the Lords cries out, “Next year I’ll be raising Sheeple on my farm.”
What, are we back in the Middle Ages? Isn’t anyone upset over this ludicrous situation? Could it be that people are not aware? Or in today’s world, is it just seen as too big and time consuming an issue to fight. Remember, a good chunk of our days have to be dedicated to viewing Facebook and TikTok – how else can we get out news?
But the good news is we have the protection of our politicians that represent us. (Did anyone else just shoot milk through their nose?)
The New Jersey Bills we should all be watching: In the Senate: S-3446 and in the Assembly A-4875. These Bills look to establish a Farmland Review Commission to meet annually with a mission to right the ship. Unfortunately, to date, no action has been taken to stop the raping and pillaging of the Serfs.
The second to the last paragraph of Jacob Perry’s article is telling. In it, he cites a conversation that Jack Curtiss of Mendham Township had with a legislator regarding the flaw in the farmland assessment tax system. During the conversation, the legislator said something to the effect of, the millionaire beneficiaries are all big political donors, so nobody wants to…gulp, lose their donations. To that concern I offer my very realistic view: The Lords of Jersey are all multi-millionaires. They’re probably making more than a million dollars a year. For them to pay their fair share of real estate taxes would be a minor rounding error for them. And besides, I doubt that Bruce Springsteen is doing his taxes every year and sees the amount he’s paying. He, like the other multi-millionaires in New Jersey have tax accountants filling out their returns and paying their bills. The only thing those accountants are looking for is a piece of paper with a number on it that says, this is the amount you can claim on your Federal and State tax returns. They’ll Never Know a Change Has Been Made! So let’s just quietly fix the situation and nobody will be the wiser.
