Audit Takes Hard Look at Corporate Tax Breaks in New Jersey

The state found "adequate controls," but lax oversight.

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie greets a construction worker in Camden. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

This is your first of three free stories this month. Become a free or sustaining member to read unlimited articles, webinars and ebooks.

Become A Member

A new state audit questions whether a controversial New Jersey tax break program has paid off. A report, released Jan. 19, takes a deep dive into some of the finances of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) Selective Incentive Program. It assesses grants and incentives from July 2011 through September 2016.

While noting that the EDA has “adequate controls,” the report found lax oversight, according to NJTV News. The outlet reported:

The audit found lax oversight, noting, for example, “… four of seven businesses reviewed had fewer employees than they needed to receive a full grant but their awards had not been adjusted.” In Camden the EDA offered companies like Lockheed Martin, Holtec and Subaru even bigger, enhanced tax breaks. But the audit examined that rationale and advised, “… such an increase should be questioned and revisited as it may not be in the best interest of the state.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been a big advocate for corporate tax breaks. Though this incentives program has been in operation since the ’90s, Governing Magazine reported in 2013 that “since January 2011, the state’s five major incentive programs awarded an estimated $1.95 billion to companies … . That’s more than the entire prior total since the state began awarding incentives in 1996.”

“In the five years since he took office, [Governor Christie] has issued billions of dollars worth of corporate tax breaks,” Caren Chesler reported for Next City in 2015. “These tax breaks run the gamut from a $251 million deal to help Prudential Insurance create 400 new jobs and build a new 20-story office tower in Newark, to an $82 million tax credit for Goya Foods to build a warehouse and offices in Jersey City a few miles from its older complex.”

Critics of such concessions, often called “corporate welfare,” say governments give up money unnecessarily. Gordon MacInnes, head of New Jersey Policy Perspective, told NJTV News that one company’s CFO said, “Eh! [The tax break] had nothing to do with our moving and staying in New Jersey.” Skeptics also question the dollar-for-dollar benefit, arguing that, for what’s given away, not enough good-paying jobs are created.

For a 2014 Next City article on Christie’s giveaways, Nathan Jensen, associate professor of international business at George Washington University, said, “The literature finds that we are just giving people money for stuff they were going to do anyway.”

For its part, the EDA has defended its work. The organization “takes its fiduciary responsibility very seriously and our obligation to protect the public interest continues to be our primary focus,” the EDA chief said, according to NJTV News.

Like what you’re reading? Get a browser notification whenever we post a new story. You’re signed-up for browser notifications of new stories. No longer want to be notified? Unsubscribe.

Rachel Dovey is an award-winning freelance writer and former USC Annenberg fellow living at the northern tip of California’s Bay Area. She writes about infrastructure, water and climate change and has been published by Bust, Wired, Paste, SF Weekly, the East Bay Express and the North Bay Bohemian

Follow Rachel .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Tags: jobstaxesnew jerseycorporate welfare

×
Next City App Never Miss A StoryDownload our app ×
×

You've reached your monthly limit of three free stories.

This is not a paywall. Become a free or sustaining member to continue reading.

  • Read unlimited stories each month
  • Our email newsletter
  • Webinars and ebooks in one click
  • Our Solutions of the Year magazine
  • Support solutions journalism and preserve access to all readers who work to liberate cities

Join 1099 other sustainers such as:

  • Gabby at $5/Month
  • Abigail at $10/Month
  • Gloria at $5/Month

Already a member? Log in here. U.S. donations are tax-deductible minus the value of thank-you gifts. Questions? Learn more about our membership options.

or pay by credit card:

All members are automatically signed-up to our email newsletter. You can unsubscribe with one-click at any time.

  • Donate $20 or $5/Month

    20th Anniversary Solutions of the Year magazine

has donated ! Thank you 🎉
Donate
×