Democratic congressional candidate Lisa Mandelblatt is signing on to Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s property tax deduction plan.
Gottheimer (D-Bergen) wants to permit donations of an amount equal to a family’s property taxes to a locally-run charitable trust, which could then be deducted from their federal tax return as a charitable contribution.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called Gottheimer’s plan ridiculous, but Mandelblatt, seeking to take on Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon) n the fall, applauded Gottheimer for his innovative approach.
“As a congresswoman representing the Seventh District, I will work with my colleagues to pass legislation making these types of donations in lieu of property tax payments tax deductible,” said Mandelblatt. “Residents of the Seventh Congressional District, who send more money to Washington than we get in return, deserve to a tax break, too.”
Mandelblatt accused Lance of being ineffective, citing his inability to influence the House Republican leadership on the GOP tax plan.
“Unlike Congressman Lance, I will always put the District first over politics,” Mandelblatt said in a statement released today.
Mandelblatt has raised more than $640,000 in her bid to oust Lance, a five-term incumbent in a district that narrowly supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
At least seven Democrats are competing to take on Lance, including former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Tom Malinowski, attorneys Scott Salmon and Goutam Jois, banker Linda Weber, 2016 nominee Peter Jacob, and New Jersey Environmental Federation director David Pringle.