Steve D'Agostino is a politically Independent candidate for NJ Governor
Hello, I am Steve D'Agostino - and if (by some miracle) I should get elected, I would be primarily focused on fixing 2 things:
1) Putting an end to property taxes; and
2) Ending all forms of corruption, which essentially is a plague that seems to be rampant within all 3 branches of our state's government.
Although I enjoy being a private person, nonetheless I am running because there are things in this state that need to be fixed, and it seems that no other candidate will ever do it.
1) Putting an end to property taxes:
Most everyone would agree that property taxes are the most unfair by far, simply because they are constantly being incurred repeatedly, and without ever ending.
That is, as much as people may find income taxes and/or sales taxes distasteful, at least they are each incurred only once - first when you go to work and earn your money, that money is then subjected to income tax (federal and state). But then after paying your one-time federal income tax and one-time state income tax on those earnings, that money is never taxed again (well, at least not until you spend it).
And then when you go to spend it, for most of the things that you buy, you will also have to pay a sales tax.
But then once you buy your items, those items are yours free and clear at that point - as there will be no further taxes on those items, which you worked hard for to earn, and for which you have paid taxes twice on (i.e the income tax and then the sales tax).
But the one exception to the above, is the "property tax" placed on your home / real estate - despite your having paid income taxes, and despite your having paid a
"real estate transfer tax" on that purchase, you still have to keep constantly paying a "property tax" on that purchase, year after year after year, with no possible end - ever! And unlike all other programs which can possibly reduce a person's financial burdens and/or hardships, (e.g. programs that can even reduce the amount of money you may owe on your mortgage, which is money that the bank lent to you and is still owed the bank), there is no bail out or relief programs for a person's never-ending property tax burden, which is for money that you must give to the state and local government, and on top of that, it is money which you likely never significantly benefited from (if at all).
So when you ask most politicians, they may tell you that they agree it is a very unfair tax. But they will also say that unfortuantely it is a necessary evil, as they don't know how else to raise the necessary amount of money without it.
But I think I do know how to raise the necessary amount of money without property taxes.
There are a lot of pieces and moving parts to this plan, which are difficult to explain on paper (i.e. effectively articulate via written words alone), although I am still in the process of trying to do so. But please check back often, as this website is a work in progress.
Disclaimer
So let me be right upfront and tell you that I have absolutely no political experience at all. *
On top of that, I'm short, fat, homely, and kinda weird looking (that's why I didn't include a picture of myself here).
I am also a private person, so truthfully running for any political office is one of the last things that I would ever want to do. But like so many other things I have experienced in my life, if I don't roll up my sleeves and do it myself, nobody else will, and as a result it won't ever get fixed. So once again, I am left with no other viable choice.
