The Latest on New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s tax credit task force (all times local):
3:20 p.m.
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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says a state task force’s report on business tax incentives shows the system is “rigged.”
The remarks from Murphy came at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, a day after the report was issued following a judge’s rejection of a lawsuit aimed at blocking its release.
Murphy, a Democrat, says the report shows that the state’s expiring tax incentive program, which dates to 2013, was “designed by special interests” to help themselves.
The 75-page report concluded that the program was authored in part by private parties whose business interests benefited from it. It also said the state department overseeing the program needed more controls over the incentives.
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12:40 p.m.
A New Jersey state task force found private stakeholders, particularly linked to influential Democratic power broker George Norcross, helped craft tax credits to benefit their business interests.
The 75-page report by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s tax credit task force came out late Monday, soon after a judge ruled the report was in the public’s interest. That came despite a legal challenge by George Norcross and the firms covered in the report.
Norcross is executive chairman of insurance brokerage Conner Strong & Buckelew and chairs the board of Cooper University Health in Camden.
He’s a major Democratic fundraiser and former Camden County party chairman. Norcross, Conner Strong, Cooper and other firms mentioned during a task force hearing and in the report had sued Murphy, saying the panel is defaming them.
