A measure to stabilise taxes in Atlantic City has stalled just three weeks before a deadline for the city’s casinos to challenge their assessed value, reports philly.com.
There is a standoff between New Jersey governor Chris Christie and senate president Stephen Sweeney about the Sweeney-sponsored Atlantic City tax relief plan, formally known as the Casino Property Taxation Stabilisation Act.
As the April 1 deadline looms for casinos to file appeals of their property-tax assessments for this year, Christie is waiting to hear the recommendations of the emergency management team he installed in January. Successful casino tax appeals in recent years have cost Atlantic City nearly $400m in refunds.
Atlantic City mayor Don Guardian has endorsed the Sweeney plan, which includes a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes programme to relieve the casinos from paying property taxes. They would instead pay an annual lump sum for the next 15 years.
"Our residents and business owners alike need these bills to be passed," Guardian said last week. "I'm confident that everyone involved with the process will see how important they are to Atlantic City's long-term property-tax stabilisation and will pass them."
Sweeney said of the delay: "We have the votes to pass it. The Atlantic County executive and the freeholders are for it. They're all on board. It's the administration.
"They know what the bills are," he said. "But I'm not putting them on governor Christie's desk until I know he will sign them."
