The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Roseland NJ, this afternoon, Governor Phil Murphy delivered his budget proposal for New Jersey’s 2025 fiscal year which begins July 1. After months of reassuring the state’s business community that he would let the 2.5% Corporation Business Tax (CBT) surcharge expire, he has proposed reinstating it and returning New Jersey to its status as an extreme outlier for business taxes.
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Roseland NJ, New Jersey’s economy is expected to stay about the same during the second half of the year compared to the first half, according to 44% of the 434 certified public accountants surveyed by the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) in June. An equal number (44%) believed it would worsen. Only 12% believed it would improve.
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Roseland NJ, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) awarded $221,500 in scholarships to 53 New Jersey-based high school and college students on April 27 at the Pines Manor in Edison. Out of 146 applicants, the NJCPA Scholarship Fund distributed scholarships to 35 college students and 18 high school students.
Continue reading New Jersey Society of CPAs Awards $221,500 in Accounting Scholarships
Statement by Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and Executive Director, New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
Roseland NJ, Governor Phil Murphy delivered his budget proposal for New Jersey’s 2024 fiscal year which begins July 1. The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) applauds the Governor for proposing a budget that includes no tax increases or new fees and allows the 2.5-percent corporation business tax (CBT) surcharge to sunset on Dec. 31. We also applaud the fiscally responsible measures to create a $10 billion surplus and put more than $2 billion towards debt defeasance. However, we are concerned about the tax revenue projections which don’t factor in a possible recession.
Continue reading NJCPA Raises Concerns With Governor Murphy’s Proposed FY 2024 Budget
file photo by Boyd Loving
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Roseland NJ, The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) is pleased to announce that a New Jersey Senate resolution (SR101) has designated the week of November 6 through 12 as “Certified Public Accountants Week.” The resolution was sponsored by Senator Steven Oroho (R-24), the only CPA in the Legislature, and Senate President Nick Scutari (D-22). SR101 passed the full Senate unanimously. No there will not be a parade .
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Roseland NJ, New Jersey’s economy is expected to get worse during the second half of the year, according to nearly 65 percent of the 441 certified public accountants surveyed by the New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) in May. An even larger percentage of respondents — 68 percent — believed the economic conditions in the United States would get worse over the remainder of the year.
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Roseland NJ, This afternoon, Governor Phil Murphy delivered his budget proposal for New Jersey’s 2023 fiscal year which begins July 1. We applaud the Governor for proposing a budget that includes no tax increases or new fees. The NJCPA also commends Governor Murphy for once again including a full payment to the public worker pension fund, though structural reform to public worker benefits is necessary to end the ballooning burden of these benefits on the state budget. We also applaud the Governor for making a large allocation to debt defeasance.
Continue reading NJCPA “Ignoring businesses does not help low- and middle-class New Jerseyans”
photo by Boyd Loving
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Roseland NJ, in a survey of more than 540 certified public accountants conducted earlier this month by the New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA), reducing or capping increases on property taxes was named the highest priority for the winner of the New Jersey gubernatorial election in November. This was closely followed by auditing state agencies and programs for overspending, waste and revenue allocation and improving the state’s infrastructure. Rounding out the top five were eliminating the pension system for all new public sector workers and replacing it with a 401(k), and reducing regulations and red tape for businesses in the state.
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ROSELAND NJ, We are pleased to announce our support for legislation (S3240) introduced on Dec. 10 by Senator Troy Singleton (D-7) that would decouple cannabis businesses in New Jersey from Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 280E. New Jersey currently follows this federal rule which prohibits cannabis businesses from deducting business expenses.
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ROSELAND NJ, On Tuesday, New Jersey voters approved a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis. That was just step one in allowing cannabis sales to proceed in New Jersey. Steps two and three will be the passage of enabling legislation and then the regulatory framework that will be drafted by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
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Roseland NJ, Having a commercial cannabis industry in New Jersey will help the state’s economy, according to 66 percent of the 924 certified public accountants (CPAs) surveyed in August by the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA). The majority (68 percent) of respondents either “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that New Jersey lawmakers need to take steps to mitigate the impact of federal regulations on the industry, such as the inability to deduct business expenses.
Continue reading CPA’s Say Commercial Cannabis Industry Will Help New Jersey’s Economy
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ROSELAND NJ, Statement by Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and Executive Director of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
This morning, Governor Phil Murphy delivered his budget proposal for New Jersey’s new, nine-month fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) is deeply concerned that the proposal looks very much like the unworkable budget introduced six months ago — plus $4 billion in new borrowing — before the coronavirus pandemic decimated New Jersey’s economy.
Continue reading Governor Misses Mark On Addressing New Jersey’s Long-Term Structural Deficit
Statement by Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and Executive Director
New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
ROSELAND NJ, We are deeply concerned that the proposed $9.9 billion borrowing plan announced by Governor Murphy and currently moving through the Legislature will have far-reaching consequences, affecting New Jersey’s ability to grow and attract business.
There is no doubt that New Jersey will require additional resources during this COVID-19 crisis. To address this, we need a comprehensive fiscal strategy that includes all tools at our disposal. Absent that, any plan for borrowing now is premature.
Continue reading New Jersey Can’t Borrow Its Way Off This Fiscal Cliff
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ROSELAND NJ, The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) Emerging Leaders Council delivered more than 6,600 pounds of food and supplies — the most donations ever — to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and local food banks throughout the state as part of its 10thannual Food Drive in November. This year’s food drive also featured an inaugural virtual component, in which a separate collection raised $2,028.
“The annual food drive is a great chance for those of us in the business world to provide some substantial help to those in our community who are less fortunate. Our support grows every year, and it is wonderful to be able to deliver aid to those in need,” said Katherine Zech, CPA, senior manager at PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP and leader of the Emerging Leaders Council.
Continue reading NJCPA Donates More Than 6,600 Pounds of Food to New Jersey Food Banks Donates More Than 6,600 Pounds of Food to New Jersey Food Banks
Provides Clarity but Questions Remain
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ROSELAND NJ, The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) reminds taxpayers that the Internal Revenue Service’s newly released two-part guidance on the tax treatment of virtual currency — such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Libra — helps to clarify many issues relating to accounting, financial reporting and distribution. However, questions still remain over addressing noncompliance as well as whether or not the IRS will differentiate hard forks (blockchain nodes that no longer accept the newest version of the blockchain and diverge from the existing distributed ledger) from airdrops (means of distributing units of a cryptocurrency to the distributed ledger addresses of multiple taxpayers). Soft forks do not generate a taxable event due to the lack of new cryptocurrency creation.
Continue reading New Jersey Society of CPAs Reminds Taxpayers of New IRS Guidance on Cryptocurrency
