Daniel J. Munoz//June 27, 2018//
Gov. Phil Murphy has reiterated his budget sentiments of the past week with a new twist: If he makes any cuts in his proposals it will be the fault of the Legislature.
Earlier this week, Murphy said he’d potentially have to gut more than $800 million of the Legislature’s spending priorities if they don’t see things his way on how to raise tax revenue.
Wednesday morning, at a press conference in the Newark City Hall with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka standing by, the governor said it was “unconscionable” that the Legislature would “put that on the table as an option.”
Referring to Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District and some other legislators, he added, “It won’t be that we like [making cuts] it’s that they forced us to do that, because they’re siding with millionaires.”
That referred to opposition to Murphy’s proposed millionaires’ tax.
The governor used the event to tick off a list of more than a dozen safety-net programs used by thousands of Newark residents that would likely be gutted under the Legislature-backed $36.5 billion budget approved last Thursday. He was flanked by Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-28th District, Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, D-28th District and Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake, D-34th District.
Murphy had promised would veto the Legislature’s budget, saying he was opposed the introduction of a 13 percent corporate business tax, the highest in the nation, as well as the lack of any millionaires’ tax or an increase of the sales tax from 6.625 percent to 7 percent. But Tuesday, following closed-door budget talks that sources said were more pleasant than last week, Murphy sent a letter to the Legislature containing a list of concessions and a potential deal.
The latest proposals included a reduced corporate business tax, a two-year phase-in to get the sales tax back to 7 percent and a “modest increase to the marginal rate” on the state’s millionaires, according to the letter dated June 26.
On Wednesday, Murphy didn’t specify whether he was interested in a reduced tax rate on the state’s millionaires but said it was certainly a possibility. Sweeney and Coughlin have said they will offer their own counterproposals, while reviewing the governor’s offers.
Lawmakers were scheduled for more budget talks at 2 p.m. Wednesday.