New Jersey is losing major corporations to other states.  That’s the take-away from Tom Bergeron of ROI-NJ’s report that New Jersey has seen the number for Fortune 500 companies headquartered in NJ fall from 22 in 2006 to 15 today.  That’s a 32% drop.  Think of all the jobs and wealth that have left our state over the past fifteen years.  Meanwhile, neighboring and lower-tax Pennsylvania now has 24 Fortune 500 companies.

As Sunlight has often stated, the Tax Foundation ranks NJ as THE WORST business tax climate in the nation – for the SEVENTH STRAIGHT YEAR.  No wonder Fortune 500 companies are moving elsewhere.

NJ Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Bracken summed up the situation:

“We’re been saying for years that New Jersey has to find a way to be more competitive, to be more attractive … To drop from 22 to 15 is a pretty significant drop.”

But rather than acknowledge the problem and attempt to become more competitive as Bracken urges, Gov. Murphy raised taxes on corporations and the wealthy again in 2020.  That suits his public union pals but how many more Fortune 500 companies and businesses will leave NJ?

Apologists for NJ’s anti-business status quo like New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) like to pretend that NJ is not really losing wealth or businesses, but facts like a 32% decline in Fortune 500 companies belie NJPP’s narrative.