New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy To Unveil His 3rd State Budget
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is set to propose his third budget on Tuesday, setting up a possible repeat showdown with lawmakers over his so-far unsuccessful attempts to raise income taxes on the wealthy. The current fiscal year's $38.7 billion budget expires on June 30, and Murphy and the Legislature have a constitutional mandate to enact a balanced budget by the deadline.
Despite Democratic control of the governorship and the Legislature, lawmakers have balked at Murphy's proposals the past two years to hike marginal tax rates on incomes over $1 million from 8.97% to 10.75%.
Though they've disagreed on taxes, Murphy and lawmakers have boosted spending on aid to schools, public pensions and transit, among other areas. Last year's proposal had a roughly 3% increase in spending, while Murphy's first proposal since taking over from Republican Chris Christie was about a 5% boost.
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