“For state revenues and as with the overall economy, Fiscal Year 2022 was a boom year,” said David Dresher of New Jersey’s Office of Legislative Services. Fiscal experts told the Assembly Budget Committee Monday that a red-hot recovering economy fired up state tax revenues more than anticipated — a remarkable surge in spending power, coming on the heels of the pandemic.
State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said, “We have increased the FY22 forecasts for most of the major revenues. All of these increases reflect the strong economy — job growth, wage and salary increases, consumer spending, the hot housing market, rising stock markets and elevated corporate profits.” Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget for the 2023 fiscal year spends more than projected revenues and will rely on the massive surplus to keep the budget balanced. That worries lawmakers.
