Bill > A539

Introduced Session

This bill is designated the "Transparent Tax Act of 2015." It is intended to provide clarity to local property taxpayers and to share the burden of assessment appeal refunds between all local taxing districts. Specifically, sections 1 and 2 of this bill would allow municipalities, upon adoption of a resolution by the governing body, to send to each property taxpayer two separate tax bills, one indicating the amount due and payable for municipal purposes property taxes, and the other indicating the amount due and payable for county purposes property taxes, school purposes property taxes, fire district purposes property taxes and any appropriate special district taxes, less any property tax deductions that are permitted by law. A mortgage company making property tax payments on behalf of a taxpayer would not be required to make separate municipal and non-municipal tax payments to a municipality even though the mortgage company received two separate property tax bills from a municipality. Those municipalities which choose not to send out two separate tax bills would be required to continue sending out one tax bill that indicates the amount of tax to be paid for municipal, county, school, fire district, and other special district purposes as provided in R.S.54:4-65. It is the sponsor's intent that this provision will remind municipal property taxpayers that while a municipality, by law, is charged with the responsibility to issue property tax bills on behalf of not only itself, but all taxing districts (county, school district, fire district, etc.), the amount of property taxes attributable to municipal purposes generally does not make up the largest portion of the property tax bill. Sections 3 through 6 of this bill would require county governments, school districts, fire districts and other taxing districts to share in the burden of paying for property tax refunds. Under current law, only the county shares in this burden with municipalities through the county tax equalization process. The bill requires the municipal tax collector to send a notice of the pro rata share of the property tax appeal refunds paid by the municipality during the tax year to the county, school districts and fire districts for inclusion into their annual budgets. In the year following the tax year in which the refunds were paid, the municipal tax collector is then required to deduct the applicable pro rata share of the property tax refunds from the amounts to be paid to the county and each school district and fire district as required by N.J.S.40A:14-79, R.S.54:4-74 and R.S.54:4-75. It is intended that this provision will ease the burden of property assessment appeal refunds on municipal budgets by spreading the amount of a taxpayer refund proportionately between all taxing districts on behalf of which a municipality collects property taxes.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Bob Auth (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document