A recent opinion piece in the New Jersey Globe highlights concerns that New Jersey is missing out on a surge of construction activity as pharmaceutical companies move research and manufacturing operations back to the United States. The op-ed, authored by Chrissy Buteas, President and CEO of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, and William Mullen, President of the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council, points to significant investments being made in other states.
“Some of these investments and expansions have already been announced – in North Carolina, Delaware, Texas, Indiana, Virginia…the list of other states gaining these investments goes on,” Buteas and Mullen wrote. “Except for a few expansions of existing facilities, New Jersey has barely been on the list, particularly for new facility construction.
“But it’s not too late – there will be more announcements in the coming weeks and months. New Jersey needs to act – and act urgently – to secure our state’s share of this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity construction activity boon,” they said.
The authors note that while New Jersey offers strengths such as an innovation ecosystem suited for pharmaceutical research and development as well as a skilled labor force in building trades, its business climate poses challenges. They point out that New Jersey’s corporate tax rate is currently the highest among all U.S. states. Additionally, regulatory requirements are described as burdensome compared to those found elsewhere.
“With the highest corporate tax rate in the country and one of the most challenging permitting gauntlets and most burdensome regulatory environments, companies have lots of states working overtime to recruit them – states with business climates much friendlier than New Jersey’s,” Buteas and Mullen said.
To read the entire op-ed, go here.
