“You can’t raise business taxes by $1 billion and then lament months later how New Jersey’s tax policy has failed to draw start-ups to the state,” said Oroho. “While I hope this new initiative will prove successful, it’s likely that the mixed messages sent by Governor Murphy to the business community will continue to depress the state’s economic growth.”

Among the major revisions to the state’s Corporate Business Tax enacted by Governor Murphy in July include new tax surcharges on business income and the elimination of a tax deduction for net operating losses (NOLs) that technology start-ups, the very businesses that Governor Murphy claims he wants to help, could have benefited from.

Oroho, a certified financial planner, noted that New Jersey recently ranked 50th in the Tax Foundation’s 2019 State Business Tax Climate Index due to the state’s combination of high business, income, and property taxes, and an ever-shifting tax environment that deters capital investment.

“As long as we continue to rank dead last in business climate, we’ll have a hard time convincing both start-ups and established businesses to invest in New Jersey, regardless of the incentives we offer,” said Oroho. “We’d be much better off working to create a competitive, predictable tax environment that encourages capital investment by businesses large and small. Until we provide the stability that businesses crave, we’ll be disappointed with the results.”