Christopher Emigholz, chief government affairs officer for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said on Mar. 30 that New Jersey should reduce state spending and reconsider three proposed business taxes in Governor Mikie Sherrill’s fiscal year 2027 budget. Emigholz addressed the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Emigholz said these issues are important because they affect businesses across sectors in the state. He argued that increased spending and new taxes could hurt employers, especially small businesses.
Governor Sherrill has proposed a $60.7 billion budget for FY27, which is lower than previous years under former Governor Phil Murphy. However, Emigholz said more restraint is needed. “In the aggregate, under the last eight budgets under Governor Murphy, we increased the budget spending by $8 billion after he proposed the budget,” Emigholz said to lawmakers. “We have to pull that back. We have to get to a place where we’re looking at trying to spend within what we have, not necessarily look to new taxes.”
One concern is a temporary $1 million cap on all net operating loss deductions under the corporation business tax from tax year 2026 through tax year 2028, expected to raise $485 million for the state. Emigholz said calling this cap a “loophole” was inaccurate: “It’s not a loophole,” he said. “It actually was Chairman (Paul) Sarlo’s bill and Assemblywoman (Eliana) Pintor Marin’s bill in the lower house… We’re holding that back temporarily. Don’t love it, but let’s make sure it’s temporary.”
Emigholz also criticized plans to eliminate an alternative business calculation deduction for pass-through businesses with gross income of $1 million or more—a deduction enacted as part of bipartisan reforms fifteen years ago—and objected to an assessment on employers whose workers use government-funded health benefits like NJ FamilyCare instead of employer insurance.
“There is a flawed report out there that the Department of Human Services puts out that if you have more than 50 of your employees on Medicaid, your name gets on this list,” Emigholz told legislators about concerns with penalizing employers who hire part-time or seasonal workers who may rely on Medicaid coverage.
The New Jersey Business and Industry Association serves as one of America’s largest statewide employer associations representing private-sector employers throughout New Jersey according to its official website. The association advances competitive excellence among its members while providing advocacy services and facilitating partnerships between businesses, government entities, and academic institutions according to its official website. Michele Siekerka currently serves as president and chief executive officer according to its official website.
Looking ahead, Emigholz urged lawmakers not to include measures he described as harmful for business growth in any final version of next year’s state budget.
