Murphy 'Hypocritical' On Tax Incentives, County Officials Say

Camden County Democratic officials are calling Gov. Phil Murphy’s “relentless attacks” on Camden businesses who receive tax incentives from the state "hypocritical" following a report that shows Murphy lobbied in favor of tax credits for Goldman Sachs back in 2003.

On Thursday, a task force appointed by Murphy, who is also a Democrat, held a public hearing about $11 billion in corporate tax breaks that benefit New Jersey businesses over the last 14 years, including Prudential, Holtec, Honeywell and Campbell's Soup. Holtec and Campbell’s Soup are both based in Camden.

On Thursday night, though, The Star Ledger reported that in 2003, Murphy called the state’s tax incentive program “an important factor in Goldman Sachs’ decision to spend $1.4 billion to build a 40-story skyscraper in Jersey City.”

At the time, Murphy was Goldman Sachs’ managing director, and Gov. Jim McGreevey was considering eliminating the program.

Following that report, Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr., Camden City Council President Curtis Jenkins and state Sen. Nilsa Cruz Perez released a joint statement that read, in part:

“So, if we are reading this correctly, Gov. Murphy was for incentives as managing partner of Goldman Sachs before he was against them for Camden? The only conclusion we can draw from this statement is that what was good for him and his wealthy partners then isn’t good today for businesses and residents of Camden.

“For the first time in 50 years Camden’s future is bright, but to satisfy a political vendetta the Governor is willing to put thousands of new jobs and development at risk. His administration’s attack on the businesses and people of Camden is shameful and flies in the face of his own aggressive support of economic incentives when it suited his needs.”

Murphy's office had no response to the officials' statement Friday afternoon, but it reiterated comments made Wednesday night on the Ask the Governor radio show that aired Wednesday night.

"There are a handful of communities in this state and if we get them right, we get New Jersey right and Camden is on that list," Murphy said during the show. "Getting Camden right, and caring about Camden, is a huge priority for this Administration and it will continue to be. But let’s do it smartly. Let’s do it so everybody benefits. Let’s do it in a transparent way that we regulate and folks say 'You know what? That money was well spent. I can see where it went, it had the following result, and I feel good about that.' That’s what this is about."

The task force has been examining the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), the agency that oversees the state's tax incentive program.

Spurred by a report from the State Comptroller that warned of a severe lack of monitoring and oversight over past awards – as well as thousands of promised jobs that couldn't be substantiated – the task force recently began the job of reviewing every award with paid benefits.

On Wednesday, WNYC and ProPublica reported that an insurance firm controlled by Democratic power broker George Norcross benefit from changes made to the 2013 Economic Opportunity Act that were made by a lawyer who is politically connected to Norcross. Specifically, $1.1 billion of $1.6 billion in tax credits went to Norcross’s insurance brokerage, charitable affiliations and clients of his brother’s law firm.

The New York Times reported that Norcross’s insurance firm, Conner Strong & Buckelew, received $86.2 million in tax credits to move an 18-story office tower to Camden as a result of the rewritten legislation.

“I am deeply troubled by the findings outlined in both the WNYC report this morning and the New York Times story this afternoon. Coupled with what we already know about how the tax incentive program operated over the past six years, I believe now more than ever in the importance of the task force I commissioned,” Murphy said in response to the stories. “Until we’ve taken a good hard look at the entire process, I don’t believe we can be sure that all taxpayer money has been properly spent and accounted for. If there was fraud in this program, I expect the task force will uncover it and those individuals will be held accountable. Given the breadth of these findings and those so far reported by the task force, I believe anything short of a total revamp of the tax incentive program is a disservice to the hardworking taxpayers of New Jersey.”

The programs established by the Economic Opportunity Act are set to expire this year, and Murphy has called for significant reforms, including a hard cap on per-job and annual awards, tighter reporting requirements, and targeting awards to emerging industries and "homegrown businesses."

Watch video of the March 2 hearing below:

See related: Task Force Probes New Jersey’s $11B ‘Corporate Gravy Train’