In remarks from both gubernatorial candidates and in every conversation we had at NJMEP’s Manufacturing Day event last week, one point of view was consistent: Pennsylvania is New Jersey’s #1 competitor.
“Pennsylvania is kicking our ass on data centers,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli told the crowd.
“Pennsylvania is eating our lunch right now,” NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka said in an interview with Standard & Works, adding:
“They're driving down their corporate business tax to below 5% while we just increased ours to 11.5% for our largest companies, our largest job creators in the state of New Jersey. That's a travesty.”
Pennsylvania’s advantages, according to attendees, boil down to three things and offer a template for New Jersey’s next governor to replicate:
Lower business taxes
Both Ciattarelli and his opponent Rep. Mikie Sherrill said business taxes are too high.
“That’s what Pennsylvania’s doing, that’s what we need to do here,” Ciattarelli said. “If our top bracket for businesses is going to continue to be 11.5%, we are dying a slow death by a thousand cuts.”
Abundant access to energy
NJBIA’s Siekerka pointed out that New Jersey recently lost to Pennsylvania on a data center deal worth billions.
“They looked at South Jersey. We don’t have the capacity. We need to get our energy and our grid in order so we can attract those types of programs.”
Ciattarelli sees diversifying the state’s energy portfolio as a path to compete, including accelerating rooftop solar on warehouses, saying:
”They've got the juice. We don't. The Democratic governor of Pennsylvania is running seven coal-burning plants, natural gas, and just cut the ribbon on a new nuclear reactor. His electricity is abundant, reliable, and cost effective. He's getting economic development opportunities we're not.”
Rapid permitting for new projects
During his term, Gov. Shapiro has touted cutting permitting times in the state by 90%. This speed wasn’t lost on the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
“ I can be cutting a ribbon on a plant in Pennsylvania before I can even get through the permitting process [in New Jersey],” Sherrill told the NJMEP audience.
The Path Forward
Despite lamenting New Jersey’s current competitive position, business leaders we spoke with see a clear path for New Jersey to improve its economic standing.
“ I don't think there are any industries where we couldn’t be competitive. We have the workforce, we have the educated marketplace, we have the affluence, we have the infrastructure,” New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Bracken told Standard & Works.
“We have the higher education system, we have the healthcare system that's probably the best in the country. All that should attract people and if you attract the leaders of those companies, maybe their businesses will follow.”
