CCSNJ Statement on the FY2023 State Budget

The following is a statement from Christina M. Renna, president & CEO, Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey:

Today, Governor Murphy signed the largest budget in state history – $50.6 billion – in which a mere $50 million was allocated for New Jersey’s small businesses community. This is simply unacceptable as businesses continue to recover from the pandemic. The Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey (CCSNJ) is strongly disappointed that state government did not prioritize the plight of struggling small businesses, many of which are women and minority-owned, given the strong financial position New Jersey is currently in.

While the CCSNJ was pleased to see that this budget did not include new taxes or fees, it also does not offer new, long-term revenue sources that New Jersey can rely on in the future. And, although pleased to see fiscally responsible actions such as a full pension payment, the CCSNJ remains concerned that maintaining this level of long-term growth in spending will be impossible without future tax increases that will undoubtedly fall on the backs of the state’s business community. The final FY2023 budget, combined with the Governor’s and Legislature’s lack of action to defer Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax increases on businesses, ends an incredibly disappointing budget season where New Jersey-based businesses were nothing short of ignored.

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