The $1 billion in savings Gov. Phil Murphy includes in his FY 2020 budget is an important step toward fiscal discipline, but his overall budget winds up spending a lot more. That’s the problem, says NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka in a recent Asbury Park Press op-ed, because the governor is again looking at tax increases to fund more government.
“We need the governor and our legislative leadership, who have previously called for no increased or new taxes, to accept that our residents and businesses have reached their limit on all the added taxes and mandates that have served as roadblocks on the pathway to prosperity,” she argues.
In fact, Murphy’s proposed budget would increase spending by 3.2 percent compared to the previous fiscal year and 11.2 percent from FY 2018. To balance this additional spending, Murphy once again is looking to increase taxes on our already overtaxed state.
“That’s not the best pathway for New Jersey’s nirvana,” she writes.
