2024 fiscal year priorities which will begin July 1, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy kicked off the budget season by announcing his spending proposal for universal pre-K, doubling child tax credit.
New Jersey Gov. Murphy Offers $1 Billion For A Universal Pre-K That Doubles The Child Tax Credit (PHOTO: New Jersey Monitor)
New Jersey Gov. Murphy’s Proposal
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s major priorities include enhancing affordability by continuing tax relief initiatives enacted last year and increasing the state’s budget surplus to $10 billion in preparation for a possible recession. New Jersey Gov. Murphy’s Administration desires to heavily invest in the rollout of universal Pre-K, double the state’s child tax credit benefits up to $1,000 per child, and supply an additional $830 million to fund K-12 education.
The Democrat’s record $53 billion plan also calls for the renewal of the ANCHOR property tax relief program, which supplies tax credits for more than 2 million eligible residents, and an expansion of the Senior Freeze property tax relief program. Micah Rasmussen, a political analyst and director of the Rebovich Institute For New Jersey Politics, called New Jersey Gov. Murphy’s proposal a “feel good” budget.
The Republicans and Progressives Expressed Some Disappointment With Murphy’s Proposal
Lawmakers campaign for re-election this year, and they’ll make some adjustments though he expects the New Jersey Gov. Murphy Administration will largely get its way according to Rasmussen. Republicans and progressives both voiced some disappointment with New Jersey Gov. Murphy’s proposal. Like in prior years, the GOP desired a cap on government spending, a reduction in tax collections, and an indexing of tax brackets. Groups like New Jersey Citizen Action and the New Jersey Policy Perspective lament New Jersey Gov. Murphy’s intention to sunset the 2.5% corporate business tax surcharge for the state’s wealthiest companies at the end of 2023. It had been in place for the past five years.
According to the New Jersey Policy Perspective stopping the corporate business tax surcharge would cost the state at least $664 million in yearly revenue. Business groups like the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey (CCSNJ) heralded the move. However, the chamber shared comparable concerns as Republican lawmakers on this year’s expansion in spending. New Jersey Gov. Murphy’s budget creates full payments on state pension plans for the third consecutive year and funds a first-time homebuyer program. The second-term Democrat also pledged to lower New Jersey’s debt with a $2.35 billion deposit in the Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund.
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