For the past two days, the State Chamber has been in discussions with members of the state Assembly and Senate about the upcoming budget.
In testimony before the budget committees of both houses yesterday, I spoke against an increase in the Corporation Business Tax (CBT), clearly describing how the increase would negatively impact New Jersey's affordability and competitive standing, how it would exacerbate our outmigration problem and not bode well for New Jersey's future economic growth.
Despite our objections and the evidence we presented to support our case, it is clear the state Legislature must find new sources of revenue for the 2019 budget. Unfortunately, that means either a CBT increase or a 'millionaire's tax' will be the funding source.
Realizing this, we challenged legislators to partner with us to create an overdue Economic Master Plan that lays out a clear, long-term path to economic growth so that this year's 'step backward' can be put in the context of starting New Jersey down a path to a better economic future.
I am happy to say that legislators from both sides of the aisle reacted positively to this idea.
On a related note, we further need our legislators to commit to rejecting irresponsible fiscal initiatives that have gotten us into this fiscal dilemma.
Assemblyman John McKeon has introduced legislation (A-4176) that would enhance pensions for certain office holders. The timing and content of this bill is difficult to understand in our current budget situation. All it does is enhance pension payments for "double dippers" and further deepen the already huge deficit in the state’s pension system.
This kind of legislative insanity must stop!
