Topic Category: Tax and Budget

What to Look for in the New Jersey Budget for Fiscal Year 2025

Posted on by Peter Chen

New Jersey’s state budget can be a powerful tool to reduce income inequality, advance racial equity, and improve the standard of living for working families. This requires investments in areas that boost widespread economic security and opportunity — like strong public schools, affordable health care, and reliable mass transit — supported by a fair tax code that primarily raises revenue from profitable corporations and individuals with the highest incomes and wealth.

The investments made in the state budget are vital to the state’s social and economic health, especially now as many working- and middle-class residents struggle to keep up with rising costs. But with lawmakers touting affordability as their top priority in the State House, working families may see cuts to essential programs or have to pay more in taxes, fares, and fees to make up for lower-than-expected revenue collections and a newly enacted $1 billion corporate tax cut.

Without additional federal pandemic aid to draw from, Governor Murphy and legislative leaders have a choice. They can either balance the next state budget on the backs of families who need the most help or require the wealthiest individuals and most profitable corporations to contribute more toward the public investments that helped fuel their success.

Ahead of Governor Murphy’s budget address for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, NJPP has identified the following key benchmarks and priorities to evaluate whether the next state budget sufficiently advances economic, social, and racial justice.

Overall Fiscal Health

Bring Back the Corporate Surcharge on Big Businesses
New Jersey is set to lose $1 billion in annual revenue after state lawmakers allowed the Corporation Business Tax surcharge to expire on January 1. This tax cut will make it difficult for lawmakers to balance the state budget as-is, let alone one with any new or expanded programs aimed at boosting affordability. Since the corporate surcharge is only paid by the most profitable corporations in the world — including multinational corporations headquartered outside of New Jersey — lawmakers should bring back this targeted 2.5 percent tax to balance the state budget without raising costs for low- and middle-income households.

Fully Fund Pensions and Schools
Beyond the inherent value that pensions and public schools provide to retirees and students, respectively, New Jersey’s long-term fiscal health improves when the state fully funds its major obligations. After years of skipped pension payments and underfunding the school funding formula — culminating in 11 credit downgrades during the Christie administration alone — Governor Murphy has reversed course, and the state has seen its credit rating upgraded multiple times as a result. Higher credit ratings result in lower interest rates when borrowing and paying off debt, providing savings to the state and taxpayers alike. To keep up this momentum, lawmakers should make another full pension payment and continue ramping up state aid for public schools.

Maintain a Healthy Surplus
A healthy surplus allows the state to weather difficult economic conditions, such as a recession, without resorting to drastic budget cuts when tax collections come in lower than expected. In the past, New Jersey failed to maintain a robust surplus, leaving the state unprepared at the onset of the pandemic. At the start of the current fiscal year, New Jersey had a surplus of roughly $8 billion, which should be maintained, at a minimum. Raiding the surplus, as some lawmakers have suggested, would do nothing to fix the state’s long-term structural deficits and leave the state vulnerable during the next economic downturn.

Family Affordability

Expand and Improve Tax Credits for Working Families
New Jersey has two notable tax credit programs designed to put money back in the pockets of low- and middle-class families across the state: the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Together, these tax credits provide targeted, direct assistance to workers and families who often spend that money immediately in their local communities, providing a broader economic benefit. Expanding the eligibility and benefit levels of these credits would go a long way toward the governor’s goal of making New Jersey the best place to raise a family. Specifically, the CTC should be expanded to include children up to age 12, and the EITC should include taxpayers who file with an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN).

Increase Benefits in WorkFirst NJ to Reduce Poverty
To make New Jersey affordable for everyone, the state should prioritize the lowest-income families who have the hardest time keeping up with the rising cost of living. Yet WorkFirst NJ, the state’s temporary assistance program targeted to residents with the lowest incomes, has not kept up with inflation and has a benefit amount well below the poverty line. The benefit level in WorkFirst NJ should increase to reflect the actual cost of living rather than an outdated, insufficient number.

Health Care

Expand Affordable Health Insurance Options
New Jersey has successfully reduced the uninsured rate for children through the Cover All Kids program, which expanded NJ FamilyCare to all income-eligible kids, regardless of immigration status. However, thousands of children still lack coverage because their families do not qualify for Medicaid and are barred from accessing the state marketplace, GetCovered NJ, even at full price. The budget should eliminate these barriers to affordable health coverage by creating a buy-in option for NJ FamilyCare plans and opening the marketplace and its state subsidies to all residents, regardless of immigration status.

Increase Outreach for NJ FamilyCare
The end of pandemic-related health coverage expansions has forced more than 360,000 New Jersey residents to lose their coverage, with more than 3 in 4 losing their insurance for procedural reasons alone. The state has invested in outreach to reduce the number of eligible residents being disenrolled, but state funding must increase to prevent more families from losing their health insurance.

Continue to Fund Harm Reduction Expansion
Harm reduction centers have been shown to prevent overdose deaths, which account for more than 3,000 deaths annually. By providing critical resources such as naloxone and safe-use supplies, harm reduction centers save lives and connect people who use drugs to the care and support they need. However, as the state looks to double the number of harm reduction centers after decades of disinvestment, additional funding will be required to meet increased demand and further reduce overdose deaths.

Environment and Transit

Fully Fund NJ Transit to Avoid Drastic Fare Hikes
NJ Transit plays a vital role in the daily lives of commuters and the state’s broader economy. However, the agency’s future is in jeopardy with a $200 million budget shortfall that will grow to $1 billion next fiscal year. To cover this year’s deficit, the agency proposed a 15 percent fare increase, but this will not solve the structural issue behind the agency’s financial woes: a lack of sufficient dedicated state funding. Fare increases also function as a regressive tax on working-class commuters and have been shown to reduce ridership. NJ Transit desperately needs sustained, dedicated state aid, as NJPP identified in a report last year. Without a plan to use progressive sources that tax those with the most wealth, the state runs the risk of drastic service cuts and fare hikes.

Use the Clean Energy Fund on Clean Energy
For the last decade, money dedicated to clean energy has been diverted to NJ Transit to pay for basic maintenance instead of its intended purpose of promoting the use of clean energy. If lawmakers continue to divert money from the Clean Energy Fund to NJ Transit, the budget should include specific language to ensure these dollars are used to transition the agency’s buses, trains, and buildings to green energy and zero emissions.

Criminal Legal System

Eliminate the Cost of Communication for People Incarcerated
Last year, New Jersey took a monumental step in addressing the hardship of fines and fees in the criminal legal system by eliminating public defender fees. The state budget should continue to reduce these hardships by addressing the exorbitant cost of prison communication. The families of people who are incarcerated must pay private contractors for phone and video calls with their loved ones, and a short conversation can cost more than a day’s pay for people in state facilities. Communication with family can reduce recidivism and help those incarcerated maintain ties with their community. The state budget should cover these costs, as other states do, and ensure meaningful access to phone and video services.

Fare Hikes Will Not Fix NJ Transit’s Structural Financial Issues

Posted on by Alex Ambrose

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Alex Ambrose and I’m a policy analyst with New Jersey Policy Perspective. I am here today to ask you to stand up for riders and refuse to raise fares or cut service, both of which will have devastating financial consequences for commuters and our state’s lowest-income families.

NJ Transit is the backbone of our economy. Millions of New Jerseyans rely on it to get to their jobs, to school, to run errands, and much more. This fare hike, however, is not the solution. We need to be incentivizing more people to take transit in order to make the state safer and to meet our statutory goals for emissions reductions.

It is no secret that NJ Transit is still suffering under budget cuts made years ago. But imposing a double-digit fare hike at the last minute is a band aid solution to a structural problem. It’s the equivalent of sticking our finger in the dam – it may stem the leak for now, but soon we’re going to have to fix the dam itself. That means lawmakers finding the political will to finally identify a sufficient funding source for NJ Transit, ending our reign as one of the biggest transit agencies in the country without dedicated funding in statute.

My recommendations for NJ Transit:

  1. Refuse fare hikes AND service cuts until the state agrees to increase the state subsidy. NJ Transit is a public service that should not have to subsist on its own customer-generated revenue. To close a fiscal gap on the backs of riders just weeks after lawmakers gave the wealthiest corporations in the country a major tax cut is the height of inequity. Increasing the subsidy to cover this year’s gap will still not even come close to how much the state invested in FY 2020 and 2021.
  2. Offer a virtual option for the fare hike public hearing. This would send a message to people who are not able to attend in-person meetings that their feedback is just as valuable as those who are able to attend.
  3. Reverse the proposals to get rid of FlexPass and to impose a 30-day expiration on one-way tickets. NJ Transit has not shown sufficient evidence that this proposal will make a substantial difference in its budget, but this will create huge financial challenges for everyday working class New Jerseyans.
  4. Commit to holding annual hearings on any future increase in perpetuity. Whether or not it is legal should not be the question–it is simply the right thing to do to ensure the people most affected by this proposal have their voices heard.

Finally, we call on legislators and Gov Murphy to reinstate the Corporate Business Tax (CBT) surcharge to create a dedicated funding source for NJ Transit. This is a modest tax on only the top 2% of corporations that operate in New Jersey, like Amazon and Walmart. New York MTA was able to avoid drastic service cuts and fare hikes by raising taxes on big businesses, so there is no reason we cannot do the same.

We keep hearing Governor Murphy say that New Jersey is more affordable than ever. We ask, affordable for who? Thank you.

New Jersey’s Population is Actually Growing, Despite Data from Moving Van Companies

Posted on by Peter Chen

Every year, surveys from moving van companies sound the alarm on people moving from New Jersey. But in reality, New Jersey keeps growing in population, workers, and income. While these companies excel at transporting household possessions, research isn’t exactly their forte.

What’s worse, these “studies” are used to fuel the false narrative that taxes cause wealthy people to leave the state. This leads to demands for tax cuts for the wealthy, which would cost the state billions of dollars in revenue and hurt essential public investments such as schools, environmental protections, and public transportation.

New Jersey Keeps Growing in Population

New Jersey’s population is rising, contrary to the conclusions of moving company surveys. Between 1970 and 2020, the state’s population increased by 30 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Decennial Census. With its consistent methodologies, comprehensive, inclusive approach, and official government oversight, the Decennial Census is the most reliable measure of population.

New Jersey's Population Grew 30% Since 1970 - Table detailing population growth from 7,168,164 in 1970, to 9,288,994 in 2020.

The Census data contrasts sharply with moving companies’ data conclusions about population changes. Their flawed methodologies only show the interstate movements of people who use one moving company – their company. A single moving business doesn’t encompass the wide range of movers available, and many people move without the use of professional movers or rental trucks. Additionally, consistent with the rest of the country, most New Jersey moves are in-state, not out-of-state.

New Jersey Keeps Adding Wealthy Residents, Not Losing Them

Wealthy people are not leaving the state in droves. Despite anecdotes suggesting otherwise, IRS statistics show that the number of New Jersey high-income households (and their total income) keeps increasing. Specifically, these households have increased by about 26 percent since 2016, according to the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI).

New Jersey's Millionaire Population Grew 26% Since 2016 - Table detailing millionaire population growth from 19,070 in 2016 to 23,950 in 2020.

The SOI IRS data shows that New Jersey continues to add taxpayers, income, and high-income residents. Even when high-earning individuals leave for other states, New Jersey’s booming economic engine generates more than enough wealth and high-income employment to make up for it.

Taxes are rarely the reason why people move, as evidenced by exhaustive research. Rather than resorting to drastic tax cuts for the wealthy that undermine critical infrastructure and services, policymakers should focus on making life more affordable for working families and improving and maintaining the amenities that make New Jersey a great place to live.

Governor’s Stronger and Fairer Economy Can’t Overlook Fiscal Elephant

Posted on by Nicole Rodriguez

Today, Governor Phil Murphy delivered his sixth annual State of the State address, where he focused on ways to make New Jersey the best place anywhere to raise a family. The speech highlighted the critical role of state government in building an economy that works for everyone, but the governor did not address how the state would pay for these investments after lawmakers allowed the Corporate Business Tax surcharge to expire at the start of the year. In response to the address, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) released the following statement.

Nicole Rodriguez, President, NJPP:

“There’s a lot to like in Governor Murphy’s address, from protecting rights and freedoms to promoting affordability and economic security. This approach to governing recognizes the critical role of state government in making New Jersey the best place to live, go to school, raise a family, or start a business. The last six years are more than enough proof that this model works, and that we can strengthen public services and have a booming economy at the same time.

“But just as the governor attributed this success to confronting New Jersey’s financial challenges, his address overlooks one giant elephant in the room that could unravel it all. As it stands, New Jersey is not raising enough revenue to balance its current budget, and the state’s financial outlook is made worse thanks to a new billion-dollar corporate tax cut that just went into effect.

“By scrapping the corporate tax surcharge for big players like Amazon and Walmart, state lawmakers jeopardize the future of the same investments the governor celebrated in his remarks. To keep up the momentum and build an economy that is truly stronger and fairer for all, Governor Murphy and the Legislature must undo this tax cut for the most profitable corporations in the world.”

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State of New Jersey’s Finances Takes a $1 Billion Hit in New Year

Posted on by NJPP Staff

With Governor Murphy set to deliver his 2024 State of the State Address next week, the state of New Jersey’s finances have taken a major blow with the sunset of the corporate surcharge on January 1. The Corporate Business Tax surcharge only applies to the most profitable corporations in the world with more than $1 million in profits — including large multinational corporations like Amazon and Walmart. Without the corporate surcharge, New Jersey will lose $1 billion in revenue annually. In response to the surcharge expiring and in anticipation of the governor’s address, For The Many NJ releases the following statement.

Eric Benson, Campaign Director, For The Many NJ:

“The state of New Jersey’s finances took a billion-dollar hit in the new year thanks to this new corporate tax cut for companies like Amazon and Walmart. State lawmakers will now have to figure out how to plug this budget hole and avoid dramatic cuts to public schools, NJ Transit, health care, and the many other public services that keep the state running. With many families struggling to keep up with rising costs and federal pandemic aid about to expire, this blow to the state budget couldn’t have come at a worse time. The state desperately needs this revenue to balance its budget, and the corporate surcharge remains the fairest way to fund government without affecting families or small businesses. We have to remember that this surcharge is highly targeted to the select few companies that can afford it most, including multinational corporations that aren’t even headquartered here, and if they aren’t paying their fair share everyone else will have to pay more.”

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For The Many NJ is a statewide coalition of more than 30 organizations working to expand funding for essential services and improve budget practices to meet current and future needs, especially for communities that have been historically left behind.

Coalition of 50 Advocacy Organizations and Labor Unions Call on Lawmakers to Stop the Corporate Tax Cut for Amazon and Walmart

Posted on by NJPP Staff

On Friday, a diverse coalition of 50 advocacy organizations, labor unions, and community groups sent an open letter to Governor Murphy, Senate President Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin urging them to extend the Corporate Business Tax surcharge on the world’s most profitable corporations.

With tax collections nearly $400 million behind last year, state lawmakers will need more revenue to balance the state budget and avoid drastic cuts to NJ Transit, public school funding, affordable housing, child care, tax credits for working families, and much more.

“As we approach the end of a legislative session with lower revenues and a potential recession on the horizon, this is exactly the wrong time to be giving the most profitable corporations a $1 billion tax cut. Such a gift for corporations and their shareholders takes away resources from our schools and infrastructure and undermines funding for areas that promote opportunity for all: affordable housing, quality health care, reliable mass transit, and clean energy,” the letter states.

Earlier this month, Assemblyman Tom Giblin (D-Essex) introduced legislation (A5878) that would maintain the Corporate Business Tax surcharge and dedicate it to transit, education, and public employee health benefits. Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Union) also spoke out in support of maintaining the surcharge given the state of New Jersey’s finances.

The Corporate Business Tax surcharge is a 2.5 percent tax on corporations with profits exceeding $1 million. The surcharge is paid by the top 2 percent of the wealthiest corporations and is primarily paid by multinational corporations like Amazon and Walmart that make profits in New Jersey but are not headquartered here.

“Now is the time for more revenue, not less,” the letter states. “The wealthiest 2 percent of businesses should be paying more, not getting a tax cut when everyday New Jerseyans are struggling. We keep hearing about kitchen-table issues and middle-class New Jerseyans. How will corporate tax cuts help them? If we intend to invest in the programs we know make New Jersey an engine of economic growth and opportunity, the wealthy few must pay what they owe.”

The letter calls for lawmakers to extend the Corporate Business Tax surcharge before the end of the lame duck session so the state can continue investing in the public programs and services that benefit New Jersey’s families, communities, and the broader economy.

The letter was signed by 50 policy, advocacy, labor, and community organizations, including: 32BJ SEIU, ACLU of New Jersey, Communications Workers of America, Fair Share Housing Center, Latino Action Network, Make the Road New Jersey, New Jersey Citizen Action, New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey, Salvation and Social Justice, and the Sierra Club.

A copy of the letter can be read here.

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For The Many is a statewide coalition of more than 30 organizations working to expand funding for essential services and improve budget practices to meet current and future needs, especially for communities that have been historically left behind.

Revenue Collections Nearly $400 Million Behind Last Year

Posted on by Peter Chen

On Thursday, New Jersey’s Treasury Department released new tax collection data for November showing that revenues remain lower than at this point in 2022, and even further behind projected revenues for the current fiscal year. Year-to-date, revenues are down $385.1 million (2.8 percent) from the prior year. Compared to projected tax collections, revenues are behind by 4.3 percent for the current fiscal year. In response to this new data, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) releases the following statement.

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst (NJPP):

“Tax collections are still coming in behind projections and time is running out for the state to make it up. What the data doesn’t show is that this shortfall will only get worse in the new year if lawmakers let the corporate surcharge expire and hand a billion-dollar tax cut to the likes of Amazon and Walmart. Last year’s record-breaking tax collections were clearly an outlier, and now is not the time to cut the corporate tax rate. This is more proof that the state will need new revenue to balance its current budget and prevent cuts to NJ Transit, public schools, and other public services and programs.”

Read NJPP’s latest budget report, Red Flags Amid a Sea of Green, for more information on New Jersey’s structural deficit.

Read NJPP’s report, Stop the Sunset, for more information on the Corporate Business Tax surcharge.

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Fast-Tracked Bill Loosens Tax Credit Requirements for Big Developers

Posted on by Peter Chen

This afternoon, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee quickly amended and approved a new, complex, and technical 68-page bill (S4175/A5833) that would further roll back requirements on the Aspire tax subsidy program for big developers administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). Despite already loosening requirements in the June budget session six months ago and with regulations from those changes just recently approved, the Legislature is nonetheless fast-tracking even more changes that would benefit developers at the expense of the communities and families these projects are supposed to benefit. In response to the bill being fast-tracked in the final weeks of the legislative session, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) releases the following statement.

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“This is another last-minute lame-duck special that will benefit big developers at the expense of everyone else. These changes would turn a tax credit program aimed at revitalizing communities into one that funds unpopular warehouse projects, eliminates affordable housing requirements for family units, and subsidizes parking lots.

“New Jersey should have learned its lesson that loosening rules on corporate tax credits leads to bad development and wasted state dollars. Instead, the Legislature is poised to repeat mistakes of the past that led to years of audits and investigations.

“Major changes in tax credits worth hundreds of millions of dollars should undergo robust hearings and public comment so we can all assess what they would actually accomplish, what they would cost, and who would benefit.”

Changes in the bill include, but are not limited to:

  • Providing tax credits for unpopular warehouse projects, which seem to have no shortage of funding without state assistance
  • Eliminating affordable housing requirements for family units (3-bedrooms), a major shortage in most rental markets
  • Subsidizing parking lots over actual commercial space and economic development
  • Creating a loan program for developers backed by tax credits, all approved by the same agency
  • Increasing the monetary value of tax credits through various financial changes, including:
    • Allowing recipients to carry forward their credits to future tax years
    • Allowing for transfer of credits
    • Making the credits tax-free for corporate and income tax
  • Weakening requirements for community benefit agreements
  • Limiting fees that NJEDA can charge for program administration.

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Advocates, Unions, and Policy Experts Praise New Bill to Extend Surcharge on Corporate Profits

Posted on by NJPP Staff

A week after hundreds of union members and advocates rallied outside the State House to oppose a $1 billion corporate tax cut, momentum is building to extend New Jersey’s Corporate Business Tax surcharge with new legislation (A5878) introduced by Assemblyman Tom Giblin (D-Essex).

Earlier this month, Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Union) spoke out in support of maintaining the surcharge to fully fund NJ Transit, which is facing a looming $1 billion budget shortfall. The surcharge on corporate profits is only paid by the most profitable top 2 percent of corporations and is primarily paid by large, multinational corporations like Amazon, Walmart, and ExxonMobil — not small or midsize businesses located in New Jersey.

Advocates, unions, and policy experts from the For The Many NJ coalition praised the introduction of the bill as a way to promote tax fairness and fund public services, programs, and infrastructure that everyday New Jerseyans rely on.

Nicole Rodriguez, President, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP):
“This bill shows that the Legislature is listening to the many voices across the state saying no to this billion-dollar tax cut for big corporations. The surcharge is a highly targeted tax that pays for the essential public services that keep our communities and economy running. New Jersey needs this revenue to balance its budget and avoid damaging cuts to public transit and programs that working families rely on.”

Antoinette Miles, Interim Director, New Jersey Working Families Party:
“Just a week ago, the voices of workers and grassroots activists echoed throughout the State House, and this bill shows how those voices have been heard. Now it’s time for the rest of the Legislature and the Governor to listen, too, and stop this tax cut for big corporations today.”

Nedia Morsy, Director of Strategic Projects, Make the Road New Jersey:
“New Jersey’s transit riders and workers need a well-funded public transit system, not fare hikes and service cuts. This bill would go a long way towards finally getting a dedicated funding source for NJ Transit, rather than relying on patches and short-term fixes. If Walmart and Amazon are making their profits off of New Jersey consumers and workers, then New Jersey should be making sure they pay us back for the transit and infrastructure that generate those profits.”

Debbie White, RN, President, Health Professionals and Allied Employees:
“Legislators should support the extension of the corporate business tax to protect the financial stability of New Jersey. The revenue generated by this tax on wealthy corporations has supported healthcare, transportation, education and other projects the residents of New Jersey rely on every day. Without this source of revenue, we will see a negative impact on New Jersey’s infrastructure.”

Liz Glynn, Director of Organizing, New Jersey Citizen Action:
“As corporate profits continue to break records, working and middle-class families in New Jersey continue to struggle to make ends meet. The public services they rely on need robust funding, and taxing corporate profits from the world’s biggest companies will help ensure that affordable housing and healthcare, infrastructure, and essential services have sustainable funding into the future. Now is not the time to cut corporate taxes once again.”

Amy Goldsmith, State Director, Clean Water Action:
“New Jersey’s needs are great. On the environment alone, clean energy, lead abatement programs, NJ Transit, and the Department of Environmental Protection are all underfunded while state revenues are down, federal funds are drying up, and a fiscal cliff is looming. Kudos to Assemblyman Giblin for making sure we don’t lose a billion dollars by ensuring mega-corporations pay their fair share. It’s now time for the rest of the Legislature and Governor to step up.”

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For The Many is a statewide coalition of more than 30 organizations working to expand funding for essential services and improve budget practices to meet current and future needs, especially for communities that have been historically left behind.

Workers and Advocates Tell Lawmakers: Do Not Cut a $1 Billion Check to Amazon and Walmart

Posted on by NJPP Staff

With the end of the legislative session approaching, more than 100 workers, policy experts, and advocates from For The Many NJ rallied outside the State House to tell lawmakers: Do not cut a $1 billion check to the world’s most profitable businesses!

As state tax collections continue to come in lower than projected, members of the coalition warned that not renewing the Corporate Business Tax surcharge would threaten essential public services, programs, and infrastructure that everyday New Jerseyans rely on.

“We cannot give the largest corporations in the world a $1 billion tax cut on the backs of working people across New Jersey,” said Antoinette Miles, Interim Director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance. “We need this revenue to fund our communities, our schools, our infrastructure, and our environment. The writing is on the wall with the fiscal cliffs on the horizon, and we have a solution right here. Lawmakers need to stop this tax cut and have these big corporations pay what they owe.”

Eliminating the corporate surcharge, a 2.5 percent tax paid only by corporations with annual profits over $1 million, would cost the state $1 billion every year. Governor Murphy said he would allow the tax to expire at the end of the year in his budget address, stating “A deal is a deal.” The state’s financial outlook has dramatically shifted since then, however, as the state is now operating at a structural deficit.

“We’ve heard a lot about a deal being a deal, but why is a deal with big out of state corporations the one that counts?” asked Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst at NJPP. “What about the deal to New Jersey’s commuters and students who ride buses and trains to get to work and school? Instead of honoring a deal to fix NJ Transit, we’re writing a check to Amazon and Wells Fargo instead. These are not small businesses or mom-and-pops or pizzerias paying this tax, it’s the world’s largest corporations.”

A report released earlier this year by New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) found that only the most profitable 2 percent of businesses operating in New Jersey — including out of state companies like Amazon and Walmart — pay the surcharge, while 98 percent of businesses do not pay it. The report also found that more than 70 percent of the tax cut would go to companies with more than $10 million in annual profits.

“Public employees saw the damage caused during the Christie era when the state failed to raise revenues to pay for health care, education, and infrastructure,” said Dennis Trainor, CWA District 1 Vice President. “At a time when the state needs to strengthen its investments and ensure vital services to the public and continue to fully fund the pension, our lawmakers should not be robbing the state of $1 billion to hand to the likes of Amazon and Walmart.”

Earlier this month, Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Union) said he was considering maintaining the surcharge to fully fund NJ Transit, which is facing a looming $1 billion budget shortfall. Millions of residents risk losing bus and train service they rely on if the agency’’s budget is balanced through cuts.

“​​New Jersey Transit is facing a massive deficit, and that means fare hikes and service cuts for me and hundreds of thousands of working-class New Jerseyans who use transit to get to work,” said Margarita Rodriguez, Passaic resident and member of Make the Road New Jersey. “But instead of standing up for working families, Governor Murphy, Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin, and Senate Budget Chair Paul Sarlo will give a billion-dollar tax break to mega-wealthy corporations like Amazon, a well-known violator of workers’ rights. Which side are you on? Do you stand with New Jersey workers and students, who need a functioning public transit system, or billionaire corporations? Don’t let NJ Transit crumble. Listen to your constituents and keep the Corporate Business Tax Surcharge. It is time Amazon pays its fair share.”

Members of the coalition also pointed to other programs and services that are underfunded or at risk of being cut, from affordable housing to environmental protection. Six percent of the corporate business tax is dedicated to environmental purposes, for example, funding open space preservation and the upkeep of city parks, farmland, and historic sites.

“Corporate business tax funding is vital to maintaining open space, which is important for outdoor recreation and is also an economic boon. Outdoor recreation in New Jersey was valued at $20.3 billion in 2021 alone,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. “This money should continue to be invested in open spaces, which brings environmental and economic benefits for the entire state. We’re asking Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Legislature to continue our state’s long legacy of support and funding for land preservation and open space by not letting the surcharge expire. The expiration of the surcharge on the 2 percent wealthiest corporations would mean the loss of $480 million in critical open space funding over just 10 years and will do irreparable harm to our beautiful state.”

“We have a lot of talents in New Jersey, and one of them is being able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” said Matthew Hersh, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. “We should not have to consider abandoning an immensely important revenue stream at the risk of losing tools that help all New Jerseyans. We’ve seen the effects of austere budgeting and what it looks like when state agencies are not properly funded. We know that fewer resources in housing means fewer affordable homes.”

With a $1 billion novelty check in hand, the coalition called on the Legislature and Governor Murphy to extend the surcharge permanently, and invest those funds in services and programs that working families rely on.

“Since the corporate surcharge was enacted, corporations like Amazon continue to enjoy record-breaking profits every year,” said Liz Glynn, New Jersey Citizen Action Director of Organizing. “But New Jersey working families have struggled to meet essential needs, and these needs continue to grow. The revenue received from the surcharge has helped meet the growing infrastructure and service needs of low-and moderate-income families across our state. Now is not the time to sunset the surcharge. We urge Governor Murphy and our State Legislature to extend the surcharge and help ensure everyday New Jerseyans can prosper during these difficult times.”

Watch a recording of the event here.

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For The Many is a statewide coalition of more than 30 organizations working to expand funding for essential services and improve budget practices to meet current and future needs, especially for communities that have been historically left behind.

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