The U.S. News & World Report last week released its rankings of the best states – and for New Jersey, there was good news and bad news.
The magazine named New Jersey the 14th best state overall – positive news. But when the study examined fiscal stability, a metric important to the state’s business environment – it ranks New Jersey a dismal 48th. This follows a CNBC study last year that placed New Jersey a much-improved 19th overall on its list of “Top States for Business.” But it too acknowledged critical shortcomings – ranking New Jersey 44th in cost-effectiveness and 48th in business-friendliness.
Tom Bracken, president & CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, says these surveys raise red flags about New Jersey’s current economic conditions – and its long-term fiscal health and competitiveness.
The lingering question is what can New Jersey’s government leaders do about it?
“We can start by not exacerbating the weaknesses highlighted in these surveys, which would occur if we raise business taxes, such as the Corporate Transit Fee (CTF) proposed in Governor Murphy’s fiscal 2025 state budget,” said Bracken. “That would certainly dissuade future investments by companies – and will stifle economic growth over the long-term. We have to support one of New Jersey’s most precious assets – our businesses that employ tens of thousands of hard-working residents.”
The CTF, along with the proposed ‘buck-a-truck’ tax on trucks that deliver goods to and from warehouses in the state, “would reverse the progress New Jersey has been making as a business-friendly state,” Bracken said. “It simply makes our state more expensive and less competitive.”
Bracken and the chamber lobbying team have been meeting with legislative leaders and members of the Murphy administration to caution them about the impact of tax hikes, and they frequently remind them of recent warnings issued by the credit agencies following our recent credit rating upgrades.
If New Jersey wants to maintain these ratings, the agencies have said, the state needs to find “long-term, stable, organic sources of revenue.” And to the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, there is only one way to do that. “Develop and nurture a healthy, growing state business climate,” Bracken says. “That’s how New Jersey will flourish and pay for the state programs that helps make it a great place to work and to live.”
“The current budget proposals add fuel to the fire regarding New Jersey’s negatives highlighted in the CNBC and US News & World Report rankings – and the warnings issued by the credit agencies,” said Bracken. “It also does not provide any meaningful support to our struggling business community. There’s no reason we can’t be a top 10 state for doing business. A strong business climate that is not overtaxed and overregulated will allow New Jersey to flourish and to move up in the various economic surveys to the higher rankings we deserve.”