According to New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, the many things state government has done recently are good for business because they help create a stable environment. This ranges from making full payments to the state’s pension system and school funding formula in the FY2025 budget to providing ANCHOR property tax rebate checks and implementing the Stay NJ property tax rebate program for seniors (scheduled to start in 2026).
Speaking at this morning’s Meet the Decision Makers event at the Holiday Inn Clark, hosted by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), Coughlin, a Democrat, said his party is often tagged with the reputation of not caring for businesses. He explained, however, that the things his party and the Murphy administration have done have all been geared toward stability.
Talking to this morning’s business audience, Coughlin said, “You know better than I do what it’s like to live in an uncertain climate. People like certainty, and … doing the things that are going to make long-term improvements [in the state] are powerful tools for businesses.”
Coughlin also explained how the 2.5% Corporate Transit Tax, which raises money for NJ TRANSIT while increasing the Corporate Business Tax (CBT) to 11.5% (for companies with net incomes of $10 million), is good for businesses in the long term because it will keep goods and people moving across a robust transportation infrastructure.
“None of us likes to raise taxes. We don’t take any great delight in doing that because we pay them, too,” Coughlin said while discussing the CBT. “The truth of the matter is that when you’re making these decisions, it’s about [continuing to] provide the incredible services we have in the state.”
NJBIA and the business community opposed the CBT increase, but Coughlin explained that he did listen to businesses when it came to extending the increase for just five years and not making it permanent.
“There’s a time frame on it. … That’s what [I mean] when we talk about respect, understanding, and building a trust level [with business] that lets us be candid and honest with each other; recognizing that there’s no gamesmanship going on, but a genuine concern and desire to work together,” Coughlin said.
Aside from taxes, NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka asked Coughlin if he would support the business community and help reintroduce a bill that would create the Government Efficiency and Regulatory Review (GEARR) Commission.
The bill passed both the Assembly and Senate in 2021, but it was then vetoed by Gov. Phil Murphy. The legislation would have created a commission to review all proposed rules, regulations and executive orders to assess their potential or actual effects on the state’s economy and determine whether their costs and other burdens on businesses, workers, and local governments would outweigh their intended benefits.
“This is low-hanging fruit,” Siekerka said. “Setting up a committee where the business community could be heard in a manner that is very important to them – especially coming off the corporate transit fee – would be good-faith extension to businesses.”
Coughlin said he would be happy to sit down with NJBIA to discuss GEARR. “We thought GEARR was a good idea and important to get done, but we don’t want to repeat the same process,” Coughlin said. “We need to make sure the governor’s office is on board. We’re not going to pass a bill [just] to have it vetoed. … Working together [on it] is a good idea. I’m happy to do that.”
Coughlin then asked businesses to be cheerleaders for the state, while calling for a better dialogue between government and businesses in order to create a thriving and robust economy.
“We’re going to continue to find new ways to make New Jersey better,” he said. “We’re going to continue to invest in our future, and we’re going to do it best if we have your help.”
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