NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka, Esq.
As Gov. Phil Murphy prepares his FY22 budget address to the Legislature on Feb. 23, NJBIA is calling for fiscal restraint: No more tax increases, no more unnecessary spending and borrowing, and the enactment of meaningful structural reforms that will set a sound course toward economic recovery.
In an op-ed published Wednesday on NJ.com, NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka noted that last year New Jersey increased taxes more than other states, increased spending more than other states, and borrowed significantly more than any other state in the nation – over $4 billion – just to balance the FY21 budget.
“Since then, we have seen the continued outmigration of residents and businesses due to our affordability crisis, we have taken the top spot in the nation with the highest corporate business tax rate, we have maintained the second-highest income tax rate in the nation, we have continued to have the highest property taxes in the nation, and we have seen our already high debt levels only increase with no meaningful attempt to rein them in,” Siekerka wrote.
“New Jersey has amassed a massive budget surplus, mostly on the backs of businesses, taxpayers and the unnecessary borrowing for which everyone will pay,” Siekerka wrote. “With that, there is simply NO justification for any tax increase this year. Period. Full stop.”
To read the entire op-ed, go here.
