TRENTON – Two pieces of legislation sponsored by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem) that would help spur job creation and economic growth cleared the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today.
The first bill, S-1949, would exempt business facilities that employ at least 50 people, at least 50 percent of whom are directly employed in a manufacturing process, from one-half of the tax imposed under the Sales and Use Tax Act on the retail sale of energy and utility services that are consumed exclusively at that facility.
“Getting people back to work is our main priority right now. Businesses want to hire folks, but they just don’t have the ability or incentive to do so right now. By providing these kinds of tax breaks, we can spur both job growth and economic development in one shot,” said Sweeney.
The legislation is intended to encourage the growth of the manufacturing sector in New Jersey. This, in turn, could help attract new manufacturing businesses that might otherwise locate in a state with lower energy costs. The 100% sales and use tax exemption on utility services currently in place is limited to manufacturers located in urban enterprise zones that employ a minimum of 250 employees. The legislation is cosponsored by Senator Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth, Middlesex).
The second bill, S-3054, would expand certain corporation business tax credit programs to the gross income tax. This will provide gross income taxpayers with the same incentives available to corporation business taxpayers for investment and hiring, particularly sole proprietors, partnerships, and limited liability companies.
“The bipartisan manner in which we are moving these bills forward is very encouraging. We all agree that these kinds of incentives can help move the economy forward. If we can finally get the governor to sign on, we can really do some great things for the people of this state,” said Sweeney.
Both bills now head to the full Senate.