WASHINGTON -- New Jersey homeowners would pay the biggest price under the Senate Republican tax plan, according to an independent analysis.

Twelve of the 20 counties expected to suffer the biggest drop in home prices are in the Garden State, according to a study by Moody's Analytics reported in Slate magazine.

Home prices in Essex and Union counties would drop by 10.5 percent, more than anywhere else in the U.S., according to Moody's.

Seven New Jersey counties -- Passaic, Hunterdon, Gloucester, Mercer, Somerset, Bergen and Camden -- would see home prices drop by at least 9 percent.

Home prices in Morris, Burlington and Sussex counties would drop by at least 8 percent, according to Moody's.

The biggest provision driving down prices is the decision by congressional Republicans to cap the property tax deduction at $10,000, Moody's told Slate.

The bills also eliminate the federal deduction for state and local income and sales taxes, a provision that singles out New Jersey and other high-tax states that currently send billions of dollars more to Washington than they receive in services.

Only residents of Maryland and Connecticut use the state and local tax deduction more than New Jerseyans do, according to the Tax Foundation, a conservative research group.

The Slate report said losing this deduction and the tax plan's limits on mortgage interest deductions would cut into housing prices because it reduces the tax benefits of owning a home.

Primarily as a result of losing the state and local income tax deduction, residents of New Jersey, New York, California and Maryland would see their taxes go up by $16.7 billion under the House bill, according to the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The other 46 states would get a tax cut.

The bill "hits New Jersey particularly hard," said U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who was named Thursday to the conference committee trying to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation.

"I will continue to fight like hell to stop Republicans from gutting the state and local tax deduction that over 40 percent of New Jersey taxpayers depend on to avoid double taxation," said Menendez, a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee.

Glad to be in the room fighting like hell to stop GOP's middle class tax hikes. I'll use every minute and every tool at my disposal to protect millions of Americans from being sold out by Republicans trying to pad the pockets of corporate special interests. pic.twitter.com/afPEvctm6t — Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) December 7, 2017

The Republican-led Joint Committee on Taxation said the legislation would increase the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion over 10 years, even after accounting for economic growth, and would raise taxes on those earning less than $75,000 in 2027.

The Tax Policy Center, a progressive research group, said the top 1 percent would get 47 percent of the benefits in the House bill and 62 percent in the Senate bill.

A majority of Americans, 53 percent, oppose the Republican legislation while 35 percent support it, according to a CBS News poll released Thursday. More than three in four Americans, 76 percent, said the GOP tax bill would help large corporations, and almost seven in 10, 69 percent, said it would help the rich.

Meanwhile, just 31 percent said the bill would help middle-class families, despite claims by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans that the legislation was designed to help them.

Americans deserve a simpler, fairer tax code. That’s why the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act gets rid of the loopholes that have too long benefited special interests over hardworking American families. pic.twitter.com/arO0IqAR00 — Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) December 5, 2017

The survey of 1,120 adults was conducted Dec. 3-5 and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.