PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has presented a $44.8 billion budget proposal that increases school funding, makes a full pension payment and doesn’t raise taxes.
In a prerecorded budget message delivered to an empty theater in Trenton, Murphy said more than 700,000 families could get income tax rebates up to $500.
“This is a budget that doesn't raise taxes on New Jersey's working families while providing hundreds of millions of dollars in tax relief for seniors, veterans and parents,” he said.
Murphy said his budget would make a full payment to the state workers pension system for the first time in 25 years.
“In this budget, we will achieve full funding of our annual obligation for the first time since 1996, a total payment of nearly $6.4 billion,” Murphy said. “The problems in our pension system, rather, have everything to do with past administrations, of both parties, and going back 25 years, who simply and short-sightedly decided not to pay.”
The budget also increases aid to school districts by $700 million.
“Every dollar in new state funding is a dollar that doesn't have to be placed on the shoulders of local property taxpayers, plain and simple,” Murphy said.
Because of the pandemic, New Jersey borrowed $4 billion last year to make up for a projected revenue shortfall.
But because the state collected more in taxes than expected, Murphy’s budget would spend the increased revenue.