Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips called on June 2 for an immediate reduction in New Jersey’s corporate business tax, citing the loss of major employers, investment, and economic competitiveness as state leaders continue to pursue policies he said make the state less affordable for businesses and workers.
Employers across various industries have downsized facilities, consolidated operations, or eliminated jobs while referencing high operating costs, taxes, and a challenging business climate. In recent years, companies such as Exxon, Honeywell, Maserati North America, Gerber Products Company and others have either relocated headquarters or significantly reduced their presence in New Jersey. Anheuser-Busch also announced plans related to the closure and sale of its Newark brewery. Additional employers in pharmaceutical, retail, and manufacturing sectors have made similar moves.
“New Jersey cannot continue pricing itself out of competitiveness,” said DePhillips (R-Bergen). “When major employers leave, shut down facilities, or reduce their presence, we lose jobs, investment, local tax revenue, and economic opportunity for working families. This is a pattern and the reasons are clear: high taxes and torturous regulations.”
DePhillips said many companies leaving New Jersey have moved to states like North Carolina, Texas, Florida and Georgia where lower business taxes and regulatory predictability are prioritized. He warned that proposals from Governor Sherrill to raise taxes on businesses would further burden companies already struggling with what he described as the highest business tax burden in the nation. “Voters were promised affordability and were told there would not be new taxes,” DePhillips said. “Yet now businesses are being asked to shoulder even greater burdens in a state that is already struggling to compete.”
He advocated for a phased reduction of the corporate business tax rate to 2.5% (A2654), comprehensive review of regulations that increase operating costs for businesses remaining in New Jersey—and long-term predictability regarding taxation policy so employers can plan future investments.
“Every headquarters that leaves, every plant that closes—and every job that disappears—has a ripple effect on families, local businesses, and entire communities,” said DePhillips. “New Jersey should be leading the nation in economic growth and opportunity—not leading the nation in driving employers away.”
