Murphy & Legislature Offer 3 Proposals to Curb Unfair Taxation by Other States, NJ Receives Another Credit Rating Upgrade, Murphy Announces Additional $26M in Pre-K Funding  & more. 

Murphy & Legislature Offer 3 Proposals to Curb Unfair Taxation by Other States

Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature announced that they are taking up several tax-related issues related to New Jersey residents being taxed by other states while working from home.

The legislation, which is designed to confront the longstanding issue of tax credits New Jersey provides to residents who pay taxes to other jurisdictions, came to the forefront during the opening months of the pandemic — when New Jerseyans now working from home were still taxed as if they were working in another state.

The three legislative proposals are as follows:

• Convenience of Employer: Under the first initiative, New Jersey would adopt its own “Convenience of Employer” provision, which would allow the state to tax employees of New Jersey firms if they work at home in other states for their own convenience (instead of the employer’s need). This will start the process of creating parity with New York, which has its own provision that it uses to tax New Jersey residents working for New York firms who work at home for their own convenience, and with all other states that maintain the same legal rule.
• Tax credits for legal action: Under this initiative, the state would award tax credits to incentivize New Jersey residents to file legal actions against other states that collect taxes from them for services they perform while physically located in New Jersey.
• EDA pilot program: This initiative would establish a one-time $10 million pilot program, to be administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which would provide grants to certain businesses that assign their employees to New Jersey locations, incentivizing job growth and capital investments throughout the state.

NJ Receives Another Credit Rating Upgrade

Yesterday, Fitch Ratings announced an upgrade to New Jersey’s credit rating on general obligation bonds from A- to A, while maintaining its outlook as positive.

This latest credit upgrade is the third in the last year for New Jersey and marks the first time Fitch has upgraded the state’s rating since 1992.

“We’ve made remarkable strides to get our fiscal house in order, from making our full pension payments two years in a row to building a strong, reliable surplus that will help our state weather potential storms,” Gov. Phil Murphy said. “There’s no doubt our fiscal position is far stronger than the situation we inherited, and we’re committed to continuing on this path to a more resilient, affordable New Jersey.”

Murphy Announces Additional $26M in Pre-K Funding  

Last week, Governor Murphy dedicated another $26 million in pre-k program funding that will be split over 27 school districts.

The money had already been allocated in the FY2023 budget Murphy signed in June. These funds are expected to expand preschool access to 2,150 additional 3 and 4 year olds by early October of this year, bringing the number of preschool seats in New Jersey up to nearly 70,000 in total. 

The 27 eligible districts span 13 counties and the amount of aid varies from more than $3 million for the Manchester School District (Ocean County) to $154,000 to Kingswood Schools (Hunderdon County).

New Legislator Profile: Assemblywoman Marilyn Piperno (R-11)

Assemblywoman Marilyn Piperno was elected to the New Jersey State Assembly in November 2022. Assemblywoman Piperno currently serves on the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development, Human Services Committees and the Special Committee on Infrastructure and Natural Resources.

Assemblywoman Piperno is a graduate of Pace University and is a fitness instructor and nutrition coach certified by the Athletics and Fitness Association of America and the National Academy of Sports Medicine.