“Homeowners in NY, NJ, and Conn. beneficiaries of property tax measure passed by Congress” – Associated Press on Rush Holt’s Property Tax Relief Initiative, August 5, 2008

The crisis in our nation’s economy is real. Rush Holt understands the concerns of New Jersey families and the challenges they face. He has worked to bring a more thoughtful approach to solving the problems facing Central New Jersey and the nation, including the recent economic meltdown that has affected Wall Street and Main Street alike, the high costs of gas, groceries, and college tuition, and a tax code that is unfair to the middle class.

Rush Holt believes we need to continue to act quickly to staunch this crisis of confidence in our economy because if credit locks up, it affects ordinary Americans, ordinary homeowners, and every small business. That is why he supported the financial rescue plan that has started to infuse capital in our nation’s banks and take toxic assets out of the market. He worked to ensure that the bill that passed Congress – a significant improvement from the $700 billion original Bush-Paulson plan – included oversight, protections for taxpayers, and help for homeowners.

Rep. Holt also argued we have more to do to address our weak economy and the growing number of unemployed Americans.  He will continue to lead efforts in Congress to get to the root of the problem, repair bad mortgages, and to help middle class families. He has called for a new economic stimulus bill to help rebuild our nation’s highways and bridges, extend unemployment benefits, provide assistance to states and local governments, and provide middle class Americans with needed tax relief.

Providing middle-income and working families with needed tax relief has been a priority for Rush. This year, Rep. Holt succeeded in bringing property tax relief to New Jersey families.  He included language in the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act, which was signed into law, to allow homeowners who do not allow currently itemize on their taxes returns to receive a tax deduction.  Under the law, single-filing property taxpayers are able to take an additional standard deduction of $500 and joint-filers can deduct $1,000 for state and local property taxes paid in 2008 and 2009. According to recent statistics, 600,000 New Jersey homeowners (among 30 million throughout the country) currently do not claim an itemized deduction for those taxes and would benefit from Holt's initiative. 

Rep. Holt also supported efforts to protect an estimated 25 million families from paying the alternative minimum tax (AMT) this year. This prevented approximately 88,000 additional Central New Jersey middle class taxpayers from paying the AMT. He believes that we need a permanent solution for the AMT.

Rep. Holt opposes tax loopholes that allow corporations to evade paying their fair share of taxes by setting up off-shore corporate headquarters.  Rep. Holt is a cosponsor of the Fairness and Accountability in International Taxation Act (H.R. 1303).

In January 2008, Rush helped Congress pass a bipartisan economic stimulus plan that put money in the pockets of working families and small businesses. Approximately 600,000 New Jersey families received rebates of up to $1,200.

In addition to helping families in the short term, Rep. Holt has been a leader in Congress for enacting forward-looking policies emphasizing economic growth and investment in research and development and science. Rush Holt believes Congress should continue to advance the ‘Innovation Agenda” that supports research-based companies in our communities, invests in math, science, and foreign language education, makes permanent the R&D tax credit, and doubles the budget for the National Science Foundation. This will help us rise to the challenge of a new and changing global landscape.

As part of this effort, Rep. Holt Rush has worked hard to make sure that central New Jersey has all the necessary ingredients for economic growth. He has worked to attract and keep industry and jobs in the 12th district by ensuring a skilled labor force, sensible regulations, and tax incentives.

Rush created Einstein's Alley to help ensure our region's economic vitality. The idea behind Einstein's Alley is to create a place and a process to make central New Jersey a national leader in attracting and supporting innovative companies.

Similar to California's Silicon Valley or North Carolina's Research Triangle, Rush has envisioned making Einstein's Alley a home to vibrant communities, cutting-edge companies and productive workers whose unique assets and shared vision attract new, innovative industries and create many more good jobs to add to what we already have.

Rush will continue to help Central New Jersey become a nationally recognized, world-class economic powerhouse.