On, Tuesday, April 23 the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey (CCSNJ) was an invited speaker at a press conference on Governor Murphy’s proposed 2.5 percent Corporate Transit Fee in the FY2025 state budget. The press conference was arranged and hosted by the New Jersey Business Coalition, which the CCSNJ is a part of and is led by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

The Corporate Transit Fee was one of several anti-business proposals in the Governor’s FY2025 state budget. This proposal would tax New Jersey’s largest businesses an additional 2.5 percent – on top of the already 9 percent paid in the Corporate Business Tax (CBT) – to create a dedicated funding stream for NJ Transit, the state’s chronically cash-strapped bus and rail agency that serves very little of South Jersey.

In her remarks, Christina M. Renna, President & CEO of CCSNJ stated that although the Governor believes New Jersey’s largest companies can afford to pay additional taxes, “It all trickles down. Consumers are going to feel this tax increase. At a time where we are facing inflation at the level we are, it is not the time to be enacting any kind of business tax increase.”

Ms. Renna went on to note that South Jersey-based employers have to bear the brunt of a tax increase that will be dedicated to transportation services that are scare in the seven most southern counties of the state. She explained, “It is a bitter pill to swallow in South Jersey where unfortunately, we do not have the access to NJ Transit services that other areas of the state have. And it is not for lack of wanting, and certainly, not for a lack of needing,” Renna said.

The proposal is now in the hands of the New Jersey Legislature, which is currently deliberating the Governor’s proposed budget. The FY2025 state budget must be decided and agreed upon by the Governor and Legislature by the June 30^th constitutional deadline.

To read more on the press conference, see below:

· NJ Spotlight article/video.

· NJBIZ article.

· ROI-NJ article.

· NJ Business Magazine article.