For the Many NJ Spreads Love for Fair Taxation at the State House

Organizations Passed Out Valentines to Legislators Urging Them to Restore the Corporate Business Tax Surcharge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contacts: Louis Di Paolo (NJPP): dipaolo@njpp.org or (201)-417-5049; Eric Benson (For The Many NJ): benson@forthemanynj.org or (908) 510-0196

Trenton, NJ — Policy experts, advocates, and workers from the For the Many NJ coalition spent Monday in Trenton distributing Valentines Day cards to legislators urging them to restore the Corporate Business Tax surcharge on the most profitable corporations in the world.

With revenue collections coming in lower than expected, the future of vital public programs, services, and infrastructure are at risk without the $1 billion in annual tax collections from the corporate surcharge.

“We need Governor Murphy and the state lawmakers to show some love to the working families by restoring the corporate surcharge and fully funding schools, mass transit, open space, affordable housing, and child care,” said Eric Benson, Campaign Director of For the Many NJ. “This $1 billion tax cut was a giant gift to the most profitable corporations operating in the state, including mega companies like Amazon that aren’t headquartered here. The state cannot afford this corporate tax cut when we have children and families left with crumbling schools, failing transit, and a lack of affordable housing. Flowers and a box of chocolates are not going to cut it. We need sustainable revenue, and we can’t be balancing state budgets on the backs of working families.”

Advocates passed out Valentines Day cards in support of underfunded priorities — NJ Transit, public schools, open space, affordable housing, and more — with poems like: “Angry transit riders are Red, Sad transit riders feel Blue. Restore the corporate business tax surcharge, And fund NJ Transit, too!”

The corporate surcharge is a tax on corporate profits over $1 million. The tax was only paid by the top 2 percent of businesses operating in the state, and was largely paid by large multinational corporations like Amazon and Walmart.

Photos are available here and on the For The Many NJ Twitter.

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For The Many NJ is a statewide coalition of more than 30 organizations working to expand funding for essential services and improve budget practices to meet current and future needs, especially for communities that have been historically marginalized.