The Town Crier - Legislative Backgrounder

Recently, Governor Murphy, Senate President Sweeney, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin reached an agreement on reforms to the tax incentive programs. The comprehensive legislation (A-4) includes myriad economic development initiatives to attract new businesses to New Jersey as well as assist in the recovery and growth of our existing small businesses.

The legislation includes many issues raised by municipalities and businesses most impacted from the challenges presented by the COVID-19 global outbreak.

The legislation includes the following tax incentive programs:

• “Historic Property Reinvestment Act” providing tax credits for part of the costof rehabilitating historic properties in this State.

• “Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program Act" providing tax credits to compensate developers of redevelopment projects located on brownfield sites for remediation costs.

•  "New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Act" auctioning tax credits for cash, to be invested in innovation as a catalyst for economic growth and to advance the competitiveness of the State’s businesses in the global economy.

• “Food Desert Relief Act” providing tax credits in order to incentivize businesses to establish and retain new supermarkets and grocery stores in food desert communities.

• “New Jersey Community-Anchored Development Act” providing tax credits to anchor institutions to incentivize the expansion of targeted industries in the State and the continued development of certain areas of the State.

• “New Jersey Aspire Program Act” providing tax credits to encourage redevelopment projects by covering certain project financing gap costs.

• “Emerge Program Act” providing tax credits to encourage economic development, job creation, and the retention of significant numbers of jobs in imminent danger of leaving the State.

• “Main Street Recovery Finance Program Act” providing grants, loans, and loan guarantees to small businesses.

• “New Jersey Ignite Act” a public-private partnership providing start-up rent grants to collaborative workspaces to support the early months of an early-stage innovation economy business’s rent at the collaborative workspace.

We have prepared a series of blog post to provide an in-depth analysis of the programs authorized under the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act and will be posting them individually in the next few days.