Gov. Corzine does not favor a tax increase in the current economic climate but he has not ruled out the possibility either, he said Thursday.

Given that New Jersey still does not know how much money, if any, it will receive from the federal government’s economic stimulus package, “We can’t take anything off the table,” Corzine said.

“This would be a very last resort action. I really don’t think it would be helpful.”

The governor made the comments at a press conference on an unrelated issue.

Corzine, who is seeking re-election in November, is seeking legislative approval for $812 million in mid-year budget cuts after the state budget gap grew from an estimated $1.2 billion to $2.1 billion. The state budget was approved at $32.9 billion, about $600 million smaller than the previous year’s.  

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