New Jersey Business & Industry Association President & CEO Michele N. Siekerka Esq. issued the following statement today regarding the conditional veto of bill S-3901, which would have temporarily extended New Jersey’s tax incentive programs.
“The business community, the Legislature and Governor Murphy are all in agreement that a responsible and competitive tax incentive program, with appropriate oversight of its effectiveness, plays a key role in the state’s economic development strategy.
“To achieve the goal of a responsible and comprehensive tax incentive program, our policymakers must work together to deliver a program that makes New Jersey regionally competitive. Trying to accomplish this through a conditional veto process does not lend itself to this outcome.
“We need our policymakers to come together immediately, sort out their differences and get a program back on the books that will allow our state to get back in the game. Absent a program, New Jersey remains without that much needed mechanism to level the playing field against our regional competitors – all of whom have a much more favorable tax structure and business climate.
“Any notion that New Jersey hasn’t already been damaged by the passing of 54 days without a tax incentive program is just wrong. Further, the delay in the awarding of 2018 tax credits has unquestionably had a chilling effect on businesses that are considering coming to or staying in New Jersey.
“We urge our policymakers to work together now on a comprehensive tax incentive program to give New Jersey a chance to compete. It needs to be a priority for the economic health of our great state.”
