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NJ is the first state to offer certification for LGBTQ+ businesses
Credit: (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) File photo: A Pride flag
New Jersey is now the first in the country, state officials say, to have a state-backed certification for LGBTQ+-owned businesses.
Originally established by Governor Phil Murphy in an executive order, the formal business certification process is now permanently written into state law.
Although state officials say this positions LGBTQ+-owned businesses for certain financial benefits, such as hiring opportunities like those already created for women-, minority- and veteran-owned businesses through similar state certification programs, legislative sponsors and advocates of LGBTQ+ people are also hailing this as a huge symbolic victory.
“This sends a clear message to all businesses looking to invest in New Jersey that we are a welcoming state,” said Gus Penaranda, executive director of the New Jersey Pride Chamber of Commerce.
According to a statement Murphy provided to NJ Spotlight News, making New Jersey’s LGBTQ+-owned businesses eligible for state-supported certification fits into a broader, more inclusive approach to economic development.
“From day one of our administration, our strategy has been to unleash broad-based economic growth for the state, creating new opportunities for all New Jerseyans,” Murphy said in the release.
“We have been guided by our values every step of the way and have enacted historic policies to protect the rights and freedoms of all workers and all business owners – so they can freely participate in the economy and contribute to our shared future,” he said.
Battle with Texas Governor Abbott
Admittedly, this is not the first time that Murphy – a second-term Democrat and former Wall Street executive who previously called himself a “pro-growth progressive” – has linked social values to his economic development goals.
Perhaps the best example of this approach came in 2022, when Murphy touted New Jersey’s strong abortion protections in a letter to dozens of out-of-state companies following the release of a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision that upset decades of precedent. national laws on abortion rights.
Murphy also highlighted concerns about values in a highly publicized debate with Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2018.
Abbott, a Republican, wrote an op-ed published by the Star-Ledger that criticized Murphy for proposing tax increases in New Jersey. He also made overtures to concerned businesses in New Jersey and defended the generally lower tax environment in Texas.
In response, Murphy wrote his own op-ed that questioned Abbott’s record on issues ranging from education to health care. He also highlighted New Jersey’s “common sense gun safety laws” in the op-ed, published by The Dallas Morning News.
“It’s simple. If you would like to be part of an economic recovery in a state that recognizes the value of investments in public education, creates welcoming communities that protect LGBTQ residents and immigrants, defends women’s right to reproductive health care, then Nova Jersey is the place for you or your business,” Murphy wrote.
Fueling NJ High Tax Representative
Still, concerns about New Jersey’s reputation for high taxes, including on corporations, remain a big part of ongoing debates about the state’s overall business climate.
And this year, Murphy is drawing fresh criticism from New Jersey’s business community after proposing to increase taxes on the state’s most profitable companies as part of a proposed nearly $56 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning in July 1st.
Nearly 150 businesses applied for the state’s LGBTQ+ business designation in early May.
He introduced the tax proposal less than two months after a similar but not identical business tax surcharge levied in recent years in New Jersey expired.
A letter sent earlier this month by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, as well as dozens of New Jersey local and regional chambers of commerce, to all members of the Legislature focused on Murphy’s about-face on corporate taxes. He also highlighted other facets of the proposed budget, such as cuts to programs aimed at companies.
Budget business
“The budget will provide less support to an already overburdened and overregulated business community,” the letter said.
According to John Boyd, principal of Princeton-based The Boyd Company, a leading corporate website consultant, Murphy’s tax proposal, if approved, would mean that New Jersey’s top corporate and business tax rate would remain at highest in the country.
And this is not something “New Jersey wants to be No. 1 in,” Boyd said.
“What you can never quantify are the companies that don’t consider New Jersey from the beginning of the site selection search. We call this ‘opportunity cost,’” he said.
One area where the emphasis on “social impact” is an advantage is the film and television industry, said John Boyd of Princeton-based The Boyd Company.
However, last year, New Jersey made the biggest jump in state-by-state rankings compiled by the business news network CNBC, which takes into account issues other than taxes.
Climbing more than 20 positions in just one year, to 19th place, New Jersey got its best grades in the categories education, life, health and inclusion.
“I can think of no better measure of our success than when CNBC recently named New Jersey the best state for business in America,” Murphy said earlier this year during his annual State of the State address before lawmakers. in Trenton.
How it works
Nearly 150 New Jersey businesses applied for the state’s LGBTQ+ business designation earlier this month, according to the Treasury Department, which oversees the certification process.
Certification is free for qualified New Jersey businesses that are defined by law as being at least 51% LGBTQ+ owned. The certification is valid for five years, at which point the company must reapply, Treasury officials said.
According to Boyd, the site selection expert, one area where the emphasis on “social impact” is an advantage is the film and television industry, which Murphy has been courting in recent years with lucrative tax credits as he tries to reestablish New Jersey as a important center of the film industry.
Last week, tax credits enacted by Murphy helped cement a “studio partner” deal with Netflix Inc., with the streaming giant making a 10-year commitment to occupy a major movie studio in Monmouth County that Murphy says it has the potential to create thousands of people. of jobs and also benefit local small businesses and other suppliers.
“Phil Murphy has been very effective in reaching out to the film industry,” Boyd said.
“This is an industry that continues to be very sensitive to diversity and social impact and which, coupled with New Jersey’s generous film incentives, will potentially be one of its economic development legacies,” Boyd said.