New Jersey is a high-tax state — especially for big business — shouldn’t we have it?

You know the old saying: you get what you pay for, and you get what you pay for.

That phrase might be the most accurate description of the corporate transportation “fee” that’s part of the record $56.7 billion fiscal 2025 state budget Gov. Phil Murphy signed Friday.

Of course, everyone knows that the “fee” is actually a 2.5% tax on the state’s most profitable companies to make up for the $1 billion or so shortfall that New Jersey Transportation faces in the next few years.

The fee was supposedly going to “end” in five years — but nobody really believed that, especially after the governor and the Legislature dropped their “once-in-a-lifetime” mantra during the business tax surcharge’s expiration date and the state extended the surcharge beyond its original expiration date.

All of this is fine. Seriously. State officials have the right to vote and sign whatever budget they want, just as voters have the right to re-elect them or kick them out of office.

But couldn’t the whole process be more transparent?

This goes beyond the fact that the 373-page budget was voted on hours after it was completed (and hours before it was released to the public). This says more about the Jersey passion we all claim to have.

Let’s just say this:

• We are a high-tax state that often looks to the business community for help to fill revenue gaps;
• We believe the benefits of incorporating in New Jersey offset the impact of the tax structure;
• We don’t raise sales taxes (even if no one would really notice – like a 25 cent gas tax increase) because taxing big business makes more political sense.

Doesn’t this sound more straightforward than that outdated (and insulting) phrase: We want to make companies pay their “fair share”.

There’s a line in an old Robin Williams movie when he’s talking to a guy who’s trying to quit smoking. He says, “There are smokers and there are non-smokers; decide which one you are and accept it.”

It’s simple and straightforward. It goes like this:

Some have high corporate taxes, some have low corporate taxes. We have decided which one we are, so let’s accept it.

Other thoughts on the budget, most of which concern the business community:

Going all-in on artificial BroadCast Unitedligence

The state is funding the governor’s AI Moonshot initiative through an AI center in Princeton, which includes:

• $4 million to establish an Innovation Challenge to reward innovators who use national data to solve public-facing problems;
• $400,000 to fund an AI-focused Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence pilot program to help international students at New Jersey colleges and universities start cutting-edge businesses;
• $1.5 million to fund AI education in K-12 classrooms and develop new career and technical education programs focused on AI;
• $2 million to help emerging entrepreneurs build general AI-related startups and connect with AI innovation centers.

This is smart financing that will boost economic growth and employment.

Full commitment to the World Cup

The budget includes $30 million for the Sports and Expositions Authority to host “international events.” You know, like the upcoming World Cup in 2026.

That amount is not enough to cover all the logistical costs of hosting a global event, but as the ongoing Copa America tournament shows, top-level international football attracts international tourists.

It was money well spent.

Not all-in on electric vehicles

This unrealistic timeline has the added benefit of getting everyone buying electric cars in the next few years. The state is phasing in sales taxes on electric cars: likely 3.3% this year, going up to 6.625% by July 2025. It will be interesting to see how much of an impact that has on sales, which are already well below where they need to be.

Speaking of needs, the state will also allocate $40 million to support the federal grid modernization program to help upgrade energy infrastructure and meet our climate goals. While this is just a start, experts say $40 million is far from enough.

Invest all your money in education (possible)

The budget restores a $20 million cut to county colleges (a ridiculous idea in the Governor’s original budget). The budget also allocates an additional $124 million for preschool education, including $20 million for the expansion of new school districts to create more than 1,000 new seats.

The biggest news is that the budget completes the phase-in of a seven-year school aid formula and provides the largest single investment in the history of New York State’s public education system, increasing direct K-12 aid to public schools by more than $900 million over last year, bringing the total to nearly $12 billion.

The budget also allocates more than $15 million for teacher training programs and another $30 million for free school meals.

These are all positive steps to help support the next generation of the workforce.

So what’s so bad about it? Just ask any school district that thinks the funding system doesn’t accurately reflect need.

Full tax cuts?

There’s a lot of good news here, including:

• $3.6 billion in direct property tax cuts in fiscal year 2025 alone;
• $200 million to pre-fund the StayNJ property tax relief program expected to start in FY 2026 (we’ll discuss where this funding will come from next summer);
• Continue to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and the Child Tax Credit to include up to $1,000 per child for families with young children;
• $82 million to maintain the popular Pharmaceutical Assistance Program for Seniors and People with Disabilities and expanded eligibility for the Senior Gold Plan to further reduce prescription drug costs.

That’s all well and good. But it begs the question: If we keep offering all these “tax breaks,” why does “taxes/high cost of living” always top the list of residents’ complaints?

Finally, pay off your debts

The state will pay $7.1 billion into the state pension fund system, the fourth consecutive year the state has paid in full. While that’s still not nearly enough to fund a pension fund system that has been damaged by both parties for decades, it’s a start. Murphy is making this an important move – and few would dispute that it’s a positive move. It’s a good move.

The budget also generates a $6.1 billion surplus and uses debt relief and prevention funds to provide $120 million to complete a state police training center and $70 million to support state parks, including Liberty State Park and the Garden State Greenway.

These are all good things too.

While Democrats celebrate all the good things found in the budget, they also know that New Jersey’s fiscal challenges go far beyond “fixing” New Jersey Transit.

As the kids say, don’t worry. We got it done. We’ll just make the major job creators pay their “fair share.”

We do this while hoping that this doesn’t become another example of the old saying: “One trip to the well is one trip too many.”