| New Jersey Working Families State Director Sue Altman issued the following statement reacting to the final report released by the independent task force investigating state tax incentives under the New Jersey Economic Development Authority:
After an 18-month investigation, multiple public hearings, blockbuster findings by investigative reporters and hundreds of pages of reports, it is clear that there are two systems in New Jersey. The first puts corporate interests first and is epitomized by George Norcross, Parker McCay and real estate brokers at firms like CBRE. It is a system where wealthy and politically connected businessmen act with impunity to steer billions of dollars in promised tax credits to favored companies.
The other is typified in cities like Camden, where families of color, who are overwhelmingly poor, play by the rules while suffering under high taxes and substandard public services.
The task force’s work has been a searing indictment of a broken political culture intent on enriching powerful special interests at the expense of taxpayers. The task force’s work is now concluded, and it has made referrals to the EDA concerning suspicious awards totaling a staggering $578 million. With New Jersey facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis caused by the pandemic, it has never been more important that law enforcement act swiftly and take appropriate action against companies that have defrauded taxpayers. The people of New Jersey have waited long enough for justice. |
