Today, Governor Murphy signed into law A4/S3295, and with it more than $14 billion in corporate tax breaks. Mounting evidence demonstrates how costly and ineffective corporate tax incentive programs are for stimulating economic growth and recovery. In response to this bill becoming law, New Jersey Citizen Action releases the following statement.

Dena Mottola Jaborska, Associate Director, NJ Citizen Action:

“This past June, we took a step forward for tax fairness for working families when Governor Murphy signed the millionaires’ tax into law. With the so-called Economic Recovery Act now law, we are taking many steps backward with massive and costly business subsidies that we fear will undermine the state’s ability to invest in working families and what they need to survive the pandemic.

“This bill will cost New Jersey dearly, an estimated $2 billion every year for at least the next seven years. That’s more than four times the revenue generated by the millionaire’s tax that will be lost annually, for seven years. Our Governor and Legislature must ensure that tax subsidies authorized today do not come at the expense of investments in working families. New Jerseyans hard hit by COVID-19 and the economic downturn are in desperate need of more state support to supplement what Congress has authorized. While this bill was being rushed into law, families are still struggling to afford rent, mortgages, car payments, health care, and utility bills. Investing in and supporting these basic needs will not only help families, it will stimulate the economy far more effectively than corporate subsidies, as studies have shown.”

New Jersey Citizen Action is a statewide advocacy and social service organization that advocates for social, racial and economic justice for all while also meeting the pressing needs of low and moderate income New Jerseyans through education and direct service.