On behalf of our member companies that provide more than 1 million jobs in the state and make the New Jersey Business & Industry Association the largest statewide business association in the country, we are writing to express our SUPPORT of S-846 (Turner, Pou, Ruiz). The bill extends the duration of urban enterprise zones for 10 additional years.
As you are aware, New Jersey’s urban enterprise zone (UEZ) program was enacted in 1983 and exists to foster an economic climate that revitalizes designated urban communities and stimulates their growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private sector jobs through public and private investment. Businesses in UEZs are allowed to charge half of the state’s regular sales tax rate and receive incentives such as business-to-business tax exemptions, subsidies for unemployment insurance, and tax credits for hiring and investing.
S-846 would extend the duration of each previously designated UEZ for 10 years beyond the date each zone is scheduled to expire, including the UEZ communities of Bridgeton, Camden, Newark, Plainfield and Trenton. The UEZ designation for these five communities expired at the end of 2016 after multiple attempts to extend them.
The UEZ program has proven to be an effective economic development tool for cities, and has helped countless businesses, both large and small, through the years. The UEZ program has helped to revitalize designated urban communities and stimulate growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private sector jobs through public and private investment.
Once again, NJBIA strongly supports S-846, and we urge you to vote “yes” when the bill comes before the Senate Economic Growth Committee for a vote on January 25, 2018. Thank you for considering our views and should you have any questions or need further information, please contact me at 609-858-9512.
