South Jersey Program Lets You Save On Taxes While You Shop
by Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- To deal with New Jersey's highest-in-the-land property taxes, you need a little retail therapy.
That's the idea behind a program just launched in Haddonfield that offers tax incentives when you shop.
Here at In the Kitchen Cooking School, "fresh ricotta cheese, which is always a show-stopper. Then we crisp prosciutto, which is really nice -- most people don't cook it at all. And we made some bruschetta."
Chef Kathy Gold invites you to gather 'round and go hands-on with recipes.
Or maybe it's the housewares at the front of the store you've got an eye on.
"You can do a cheese display on this that will be such an incredible knockout," Gold said.
That cheese board has a $125 price tag. Buy it, and you get 7.5 percent back in the form of a property tax rebate.
"We like to keep the dollars local, and keep our people from having to go elsewhere. It's an incentive program for them to spend their dollars here where they live," Gold explained.
The money comes from merchants; each picks a percentage to give back.
After signing up at PropertyTaxCard.com, New Jersey homeowners who swipe when they shop will get a tax credit; renters and out-of-towners get an end-of-year check.
"We have fantastic services, goods and services here, and we pay for them through our taxes, and its a nice way to give back something for the people paying those taxes," said Gold.
Several other South Jersey municipalities, including Glassboro, Voorhees, and Somerdale, also offer the program.
