State Budget Deficit is Top Concern Among CPAs in New Jersey Society of CPAs Economic Survey

On Jul 7, 2017

The most pressing concern among certified public accountants (CPAs) in operating a business in New Jersey over the next 12 months is the state’s budget deficit and credit rating, according to a survey initiated by New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) in April, 2017. More than 23 percent of the 493 NJCPA members who took the survey ranked the state’s budget deficit as their highest concern, followed by implications of health care reform (17 percent) and a smattering of issues (9 to 14 percent) including federal tax reform, state and local taxes, regulatory requirements and the state’s underfunded state pensions.

New Jersey’s credit rating has been downgraded 11 times by rating agencies largely due to the state’s underfunded pensions, which totaled $49 billion last year, and based on the state’s weak budget condition and liquidity issues.

More than 75 percent of the NJCPA survey respondents believed that economic conditions in New Jersey would be either worse (33 percent) or about the same (43 percent) one year from now, while only 25 percent believed it would be better. More than 60 percent of respondents recommended reducing property taxes as a remedy to stimulate greater economic expansion, while more than half suggested enacting tort reform to spur economic growth.

“The survey is a telling sign of what’s important to New Jersey businesses and what needs to be improved to help businesses, their clients and residents thrive in the state,” said Ralph Albert Thomas, CGMA, CEO and executive director of NJCPA. “Our members have a pulse read on a variety of industries in New Jersey.”

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