Doherty Slams Corporate Welfare Tax Breaks that Haven’t Helped Camden Residents

Says City’s Budget Outlook is Dismal Due to Millions in Lost Revenues

Senator Michael Doherty (R-23) slammed New Jersey’s ineffective tax incentive scheme saying new reports show that it has done little to help residents in the state’s poorest city.

“Large corporations shouldn’t be given special tax breaks that mom and pop businesses are never offered,” Doherty said. “While the State of New Jersey is pouring millions of dollars to entice wealthy businesses to move to Camden, those subsidies have done nothing to lift the city’s residents out of poverty. Instead, Camden continues to face revenue challenges while the State bankrolls the development of grandiose corporate headquarters on the Delaware River waterfront that do little to improve the lives of those in the community.”

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks given to corporations to relocate to Camden have not helped the city’s budget.

Camden remains one of the poorest cities in the country and continues to have one of the highest crime rates.

Doherty noted that New Jersey also has one of the worst overall business climates in the nation.

Rather than addressing that problem in a wholesale fashion through lower taxes and reduced regulation across the board, he said the State has pursued an ineffective and often abused tax incentive program through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to try to persuade businesses to relocate to or stay within the Garden State.

Earlier this year, Senator Doherty called for legislative actionfollowing the release of a report by the State Comptroller that showed that the EDA has failed to ensure companies that received corporate tax subsidies were using those funds to create jobs.

“New Jersey’s crony capitalism tax breaks continue to yield a horrible return on investment,” Doherty added. “What we really need as a state is a tax and regulatory structure that makes all of New Jersey an attractive place to do business, including Camden. We shouldn’t leave it up to politicians to pick winners and losers with tax incentive awards, or allow for those decisions to be influenced by who a CEO knows or gave a campaign donation to. Every business deserves a fair shot to compete on a level playing field in New Jersey.”