Assembly Republican members Mary Pat Angelini and Dave Rible today said Governor Corzine should call his so called one-time suspension of the property tax rebate program what it really is a property tax increase on New Jersey's middle class.

"Governor Corzine can call his latest assault on our middle class whatever he wants, but he isn't fooling anyone, especially middle class taxpayers," stated Angelini, R-Monmouth. "They see the governor's latest scam for what it is yet another Corzine tax hike to cover his failed fiscal policies and lack of leadership."

"As a candidate, then U.S. Senator Corzine promised to grow property tax rebates by 10 percent per year. Instead property taxes have increased nearly 20 percent under his governorship," said Rible, R-Monmouth. "And they will now climb again. It's disturbing that the vast majority of the state's middle class taxpayers will once again bear the brunt of another Governor Corzine broken promise."

During an Assembly Budget Committee hearing Tuesday, state Treasurer David Rousseau announced that Governor Corzine will 'suspend' the state's property tax rebate program for everyone except senior citizens and people with disabilities.

The 11th Legislative District lawmakers said residents are tired of hearing Corzine blame the state's fiscal crisis on the global and national recession.

"New Jersey has been a state in crisis for the past several years because Democrats have failed to change the structure of our government," said Angelini. "They opted instead to grow government and its costs and pass those costs onto the state's middle class families and small business owners. Governor Corzine, for his part, has been more than happy to continue that status quo."

"While the national recession has exacerbated New Jersey's economic crisis, it certainly isn't the cause," said Rible. "Our chronic budget problems are the direct result of the refusal of Governor Corzine and his Democrat predecessors to reform our budget process and restructure state government which has become unaffordable for our middle class."

###