Gov. Phil Murphy and State Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio held a news conference Friday to discuss the state budget passed by the Legislature.
Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday said he would meet his constitutional responsibility to sign the FY 2020 state budget by July 1, though the final document may not be exactly the same $38.8 billion spending plan the Legislature delivered to him yesterday afternoon.
Murphy has three options: Sign the budget into law as it is now, veto it outright, or use his line-item veto power to cut specific spending items. He cannot, however, add tax increases or new spending for any programs he sought that the Legislature did not include in the budget document.
“All options are on the table and we will use the whole clock,” Murphy said in a reference to the July 1 constitutional deadline.
“In whatever form the budget I ultimately sign takes… there is no question that when it comes to the middle-class investments and the agenda that I have set forth, the Legislature has overwhelmingly concurred,” Murphy said.
The governor took issue, however, with the Legislature’s decision to reject the millionaires tax he had sought, which would have required households, as well as small businesses that flow income through the owners’ personal returns, to pay a 10.75% tax rate on income over $1 million.
“We need to be serious about saving for tomorrow and putting our excess revenues into our empty Rainy Day Fund,” Murphy said. “We cannot continue to budget as though the only thing that matters is getting us through the new few days. It’s time we look to the upcoming decade.”
State Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio said that with economic experts predicting that a national recession is ahead, the clock is ticking on New Jersey’s ability to build up its economic reserves through revenue raisers such as the millionaires tax. She noted that during the last recession states received significant help from the federal government and “we have no idea if we’ll be able to depend on that again.”
“The bottom line is that we need to rebuild our Rainy Day Fund and we need recurring revenue sources,” Muoio said. “I stand here with the governor today in complete agreement that we need to put an end to short-sighted politically expedient budget fixes,” Muoio said.
Murphy said his fight for “tax fairness” would continue after the budget deadline passed.
“Tax equity, tax fairness, this notion of presenting a long-term funding plan doesn’t die on June 30,” Murphy said.
Murphy and Muoio were joined at the news conference by the past and current presidents of the left-leaning think tank, NJ Policy Perspective, who called not only for the millionaires tax but also for raising the state sales tax back to 7 percent and reinstating the estate tax that was eliminated in 2018.
NJBIA has strongly opposed efforts to raise taxes on New Jersey residents and businesses, arguing that structural budget reforms are needed to address the state’s unfunded liabilities and reduce state spending.
Murphy vowing to keep fighting for millionaires tax is the epitome of ludicrous financial management. In business you don’t charge your customers more to build a rainy day fund. You seek to cut costs to build surplus so that your reserve fund is available when needed without imposing on your customers.
New Jersey politicians, as a group, are clueless to the concept of fiduciary responsibility and its application to act in the best interests of their constituents tax dollars. They spend without seeing the tired faces of those who are working to afford their basic family needs and taxes.
Unfortunately, too many voters are blinded by apathy, unable to differentiate between managerial competence and lobotomized party politicians. Bottom line, people ultimately get the government they deserve with the power of their vote. Sad!
Wow!! Well said!!! I would have just said, Murphy is just another clueless socialist!
Or Marxist, whichever you prefer!!
Unfortunately Murphy is clueless about what makes an economy run – job builders/small businesses. These companies cannot afford to invest in their businesses and create jobs when the government steals their hard earned money. As stated earlier by others, learn fiscal prudence, cut governmental costs and political patronage. Stop taking money from people who are working day and night to build their businesses along with the New Jersey economy. Immediately eliminate the strangulating government spending and waste governor Murphy. That is the key. It’s in your pocket. Use it.
Someone should determine how many businesses have already left NJ since Murphy raised minimum wage and family leave and provide those statistics to Murphy and then every 6 months provide an update. As businesses leave so do jobs and with the millionaires tax probably being implemented in some form the rich will leave with their tax revenue. And as the upper middle class send their children off to college they may also relocate away from NJ to avoid the high real estate taxes and increased taxation. NJ is already in the top 3 states for exits which will continue to grow under Murphy. Lost businesses, lost jobs, lost rich, lost middle class, higher taxation and NJ will be LOST!