In the latest episode of “State of Affairs with Steve Adubato,” NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka discussed what the business community sees as the positive and negative points of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s $60.7 billion budget for the new fiscal year that starts July 1.
“What we like so far in this administration is the focus on process, and the fact that business has a seat at the table, and the fact that this governor recognizes the business community for the job creators that they are,” Siekerka said. “So, that's a breath of fresh air.”
However, the business community is concerned about some of the new taxes the budget proposal contains, and NJBIA is working with lawmakers and administration to address these:
- A temporary $1 million cap on all net operating loss (NOL) deductions under the corporation business tax from tax year 2026 through tax year 2028.
- The elimination of alternative business calculation – commonly known as the ABC deduction – for pass-thru businesses with gross income of $1 million or more.
- A new Medicaid assessment on businesses with 50 or more employees who use NJ FamilyCare instead of an employer-sponsored health plan.
Siekerka said the Medicaid tax is “misplaced” because most companies do have employer-provided healthcare coverage for employees.
“It's not that they're not providing healthcare for their workforce. They are,” Siekerka said. “The challenge is the workforce that we're talking about is the under-employed...oftentimes they can only work a certain number of hours which disallows them from meeting the eligibility requirement of 30 hours” (to qualify for employer-provided insurance).
The solution isn’t to assess fees on the businesses that employ part-time workers, Siekerka said. To solve the problem, attention should be focused on childcare costs and transportation challenges, which are often the reason that workers prefer jobs that offer part-time hours.
Go here to listen to the interview.
