The World Cup Doesn’t Need Any More Of NJ’s Tax Dollars [OPINION]

New Jersey Monitor

April 1, 2026

When FIFA announced that New Jersey would host World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium later this year, we were promised a major jolt to our economy.

“When they’re traveling into the region, there’s a big economic boom to the region, and most notably, to New Jersey,” our then-governor, Phil Murphy, told USA Today last year.

I sure hope that’s true, but so far the biggest economic impact we’ve seen from the World Cup coming to the Garden State has been this: New Jerseyans’ wallets are getting emptied.

In total, Katie Sobko and Colleen Wilson over at the Bergen Record report that New Jersey taxpayers have already spent or contracted at least $307 million on the World Cup. Just two months ago, the New Jersey Legislature approved $20 million year so the World Cup host committee can plan and promote the tournament, as if the world’s biggest sporting event needs our tax dollars for promotion.

And now some Democratic lawmakers are floating a temporary sales tax hike to goods purchased in and around the stadium, from 6.625% to 9.625%. Not content to charge World Cup fans extra sales tax for, say, the overpriced beer or hot dogs they buy at the stadium, the legislation seeks to hike taxes in the Meadowlands District. The district includes Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Jersey City, Kearny, Little Ferry, Lyndhurst, Moonachie, North Arlington, North Bergen, Ridgefield, Rutherford, Secaucus, South Hackensack, and Teterboro. So if you stop by the Staples in East Rutherford for some pens between June 12 and July 21, or you grab something from the Lyndhurst ShopRite hot bar during that time, you’ll get socked with the World Cup sales tax surcharge.

Is it a lot of money? No. But why should anyone pay more for anything just because the World Cup happens to be in town?

State officials pushing for the tax hike say it’s needed to help defray the public costs of the tournament, and Peter Chen, senior policy analyst for progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, noted that the tax hikes are for a short time period only.

“If you’re going to have this large event with visitors from all over the world and it comes with costs associated with it that are not covered elsewhere — it’s not like FIFA is cutting us a check — it makes sense to offset some of those costs with temporary revenue raisers,” Chen said.

The legislation says it would let New Jersey residents write off the extra sales tax on their income tax filing next year, but as Chen said, that wouldn’t really help you unless you made big purchases.

“You probably don’t need to save your CVS receipt,” he quipped.

I have an idea that’s better than hiking the sales tax to help defray World Cup costs: Stop using public dollars to benefit FIFA, an organization that said earlier this month it anticipates record revenue of $14 billion for the 2027-2030 cycle. If FIFA needs security for the World Cup, tell them to pay for it. If the state racks up expenses because of the World Cup, send FIFA the bill. If FIFA wants to give President Donald Trump another peace prize, it should pay for the award on its own, not with any help from New Jersey taxpayers.

We’re at the start of a budget year that could see public colleges, health care nonprofits, the New Jersey School of Conservation, and more worthy entities lose millions in state funding. We can’t afford to keep paying for the World Cup.

New Jersey Monitor, the Garden State’s newest news site, provides fair and tough reporting on the issues affecting New Jersey, from political corruption to education to criminal and social justice. The Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.