Opportunity Lost: Consequences and Shortfalls of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget
Opportunity Lost: Consequences and Shortfalls of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget
This year’s budget, the first of Governor Murphy’s administration, turned the page on years of austerity with new investments in assets critical to New Jersey’s working families. However, the budget fell short in one key area that has plagued the state’s finances for almost three decades, according to a new report released today by New Jersey Policy Perspective: there are not enough stable, long-term sources of revenue to sustain new investments while also meeting existing obligations to pensions, debt service, and corporate tax subsidy payouts.
The new report, Opportunity Lost: Consequences and Shortfalls of the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget, provides an overview of the fiscal and political realities facing lawmakers in next year’s budget negotiations and provides a roadmap for new, sustainable sources of revenue that would make the tax code fairer and provide adequate funding for new investments and existing obligations. According to the report, the temporary tax increases and one-shot gimmicks included in the FY 2019 budget are insufficient in meeting the state’s long-term financial needs. Tax proposals outlined in the report include:
- Restoring the estate tax at a higher $1 million threshold
- Reigning in corporate subsidy programs and repealing 2011 business tax breaks
- Raising the income tax on earnings over $1 million
- Modernizing the sales tax to include high-end services and restoring the rate to 7 percent
“New Jersey’s inability to maintain and invest in its most vital assets hinges on an unfair tax code that favors the wealthy,” said Sheila Reynertson, NJPP Senior Policy Analyst and author of the report. “For far too long New Jersey’s families and small businesses have been shouldering the burden. It’s time to level the playing field so that everyone has a better chance of thriving in New Jersey.”
Read the full report here:
