Christie promises business tax cuts

Speaking to a group of South Jersey business owners, Gov. Christie promised yesterday to do away with a 4 percent tax surcharge on corporations and keep it off the books for as long as he is governor.

The statement drew applause from a small group gathered on the floor of Radwell International Inc., an industrial electronics repair company in Lumberton.

The announced break for businesses comes as Christie is having to explain to less amiable constituent groups why his proposal to close the state's $2.2 billion budget gap includes cuts to schools, hospitals, and transit.

The surcharge was added to a 9 percent corporation tax in 2006 and later renewed. Getting rid of it, Christie said, would relieve the tax burden on businesses and give them more money to hire workers.

He thanked the business owners for "hanging in with New Jersey."

"I know the government has not made it easy for you," he said. "In fact, we made it worse."

Christie and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno made other promises, including more convenience when dealing online with state agencies and fewer headaches in the environmental-permit process.

Robert Brown, president of the American Asphalt Co. in Haddon Township, asked Christie to follow through on promises to change the Department of Environmental Protection.

Brown said he spent more than $10,000 a year to test storm water and obtain permits for two properties. The department operates under a "guilty until proven innocent" mentality, Brown said.

Environmental groups have criticized Christie, saying he is sacrificing the state's environmental health to give businesses a boost. He said yesterday that his nominee to lead the department, Bob Martin, would deliver permit decisions in a timely manner, though not always in a business' favor.

Ed Hutchinson of Hutchinson Plumbing, Heating & Cooling questioned Christie's decision to cut $158 million from the Board of Public Utilities' clean energy fund and whether the state would lose jobs that money would have created.

Christie said that it was one cut he "agonized" over and that the money hadn't been used efficiently. He called it a short-term fix but said he supported a long-term investment in renewable-energy development.

"We simply have to fill this budget gap," he said.