The state’s $50.6 billion budget becomes law today and, as the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce pointed out yesterday, a meager $50 million (one tenth of one percent) is allocated to support the business community in response to our repeated pleas for the state to help small business.
And as we have also pointed out earlier, this was an enormous opportunity missed to right our economic ship.
To add insult to injury, a plan to counteract an Unemployment Insurance tax hike on employers by using surplus revenue funds was left on the cutting room floor during last-minute budget deliberations.
Now, in addition to providing virtually no financial aid for the business community, the state is going to sock employers with a tax hike beginning in July.
This action belies claims that there are no tax hikes in the budget and sends an enormous negative message to the business community.
This is a tax increase on businesses and it's the last thing employers need as they deal with inflation, energy costs and a labor shortage.
We agree with what Senate Labor Committee Chair Fred Madden and Sen. Vin Gopal said: “The small business community beared the brunt of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and many of those who managed to keep their doors open are doing so by the skin of their teeth. They simply cannot afford the UI hikes currently on the horizon.”
State leaders yesterday said this budget helps working families and middle-class Americans.
Inexplicably, they don’t make the connection that New Jersey’s small business community represents working families and middle-class Americans too. And their pleas for help were ignored in this budget.
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce hopes there is a plan going forward for New Jersey’s economic revival.
If there is, we hope it is unveiled soon. The business community and our state need it.