Two bills, strongly supported by NJBIA and designed to bring much-needed relief to both large and small businesses, took a big step forward during Thursday’s legislative voting session.
Chris Emigholz, Vice President
A-4809, which passed both houses and was sent to the governor, will make corporate business tax (CBT) reporting and compliance easier for corporations through technical corrections to the CBT. The legislation was sponsored by Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (D-29) in the Assembly and Senator Paul Sarlo (D-36) in the Senate.
NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Christopher Emigholz called A-4809 a “win-win” as it will also streamline CBT administration for Treasury’s Division of Taxation and reduce paperwork for businesses.
To see Emigholz’s full written testimony, click here.
Bill A-4853/S-3011 aims to avoid a massive spike in unemployment insurance (UI) payroll tax in 2021 by way of more manageable payroll tax increases spread out over three years. The legislation was sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald (D-6) and Senator Fred Madden (D-4).
The bill was approved by the Senate and Assembly on Thursday. But it was learned Friday that one of the houses will have to re-vote due to voting technicality, according to Emigholz.
In any event, Emigholz said the bill that will eventually go to Phil Murphy’s desk would soften an impending $1 billion payroll tax increase by addressing both the business-specific experience rating and the rates driven by the overall health of the fund.
Without this legislation, Emigholz said, “the payroll tax increase would penalize struggling employers who had layoffs that were beyond their control during the pandemic.”
Emigholz said the bill would soften an impending $1 billion payroll tax increase by addressing both the business-specific experience rating and the rates driven by the overall health of the fund.
A third bill, A-4810, also supported by NJBIA, would create and formalize the Government Efficiency and Regulatory Review (GEARR) Commission, a permanent red-tape-review commission to assist businesses when they need it most. That bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin, D-18, was originally on the Assembly board list on Thursday, but it was held.
“Government should be constantly improving and always striving to be leaner and more efficient for the sake of good stewardship of taxpayer dollars and better quality service to its constituents, and a commission like this will push us in that direction,” Emigholz said.
To see Emigholz’s full testimony, click here.
